Robert Joseph Greene (born January 11, 1973) is a Canadian author of gay romance fiction, best known for ''The Gay Icon Classics of the World'', a collection of gay-themed love stories from over 12 different countries. Each story represents a culture and a people. The book was listed by

PFLAG Canada PFLAG Canada is a national non-profit organization which brings together family and friends of LGBT people in Canada. It was begun separately and without knowledge of the American PFLAG which performs the same functions in the United States. As of ...

as a recommended book in their "Books Worth Reading" section. One of the short stories in the Gay Icon Classics collection is "Halo's Golden Circle", a tragic love story set in ancient Judea. Author and Jewish scholar Steven Greenberg remarked that it was a "beautiful story". Greene is cousin to American Jazz vocalist

Carmen McRae Carmen Mercedes McRae (April 8, 1920 – November 10, 1994) was an American jazz singer. She is considered one of the most influential jazz vocalists of the 20th century and is remembered for her behind-the-beat phrasing and ironic interpre ...

Writing career

''Letters From Camp Rehoboth'' published an excerpt from "The Journey and the Jewels" in 2006. The ''Watermark'', a weekly

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

publication in Florida, gave kudos in their story which honored the writer. Following the release of ''The Gay Icon Classics of the World II'' in 2012, a group of Russian students translated "The Blue Door", a story from the collection about a young Russian prince who comes out as gay, and used it as a protest against the "homosexual propaganda" laws enacted in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

. In 2013, Greene publicly stated that he had received

death threat A death threat is a threat, often made anonymously, by one person or a group of people to kill another person or group of people. These threats are often designed to intimidate victims in order to manipulate their behaviour, in which case a deat ...

s from readers in Russia over the story. In June 2013, publishing group Weltbild, which was owned 100% by the Catholic Diocese of Germany, removed Greene’s books from their stores. The reason given by Weltbild was that Greene’s books did not conform to the company's "traditional values". The decision was criticized because the publisher at the same time kept more erotic heterosexual books in its inventory. Greene's ''This High School Has Closets'' was a longlisted nominee for the

Lambda Literary Awards Lambda Literary Awards, also known as the "Lammys", are awarded yearly by Lambda Literary to recognize the crucial role LGBTQ writers play in shaping the world. The Lammys celebrate the very best in LGBTQ literature.The awards were instituted i ...

in the 2012 young adult novels category. In January 2014, Greene embarked on a lobbying campaign among ornithologists to get Merriam-Websters Dictionary to have a "Jabber of Jays" as an official term under bird groups. In April 2015, Greene was a finalist for the 2015 Vancouver Pride Legacy Turquoise Award for the Arts.

Canadian Broadcast Standards Council

In February 2008, Greene filed a complaint with the

Canadian Broadcast Standards Council The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC) is an industry funded self-regulating organization created by the Canadian Association of Broadcasters to administer standards established by its own members, Canada's private broadcasters. The coun ...

(CBSC) against

CKYE-FM CKYE-FM (93.1 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station in Vancouver, British Columbia. It airs a multicultural format and is owned by the South Asian Broadcasting Corporation. CKYE-FM has an effective radiated power of up to 8,000 watts from a tran ...

and the ''Harjinder Thind Radio Show'' that aired on January 31, 2008. The complaint cited bias against the LGBT community. Greene also stated that the radio show allowed callers to make inaccurate statements against the LGBT Community and did not allow or invite any discussion for an opposing view. After a formal investigation, on October 23, 2008, the CBSC issued their decision and sided with Greene and found CKYE-FM and the ''Harjinder Thind Show'' in violation of the

Canadian Human Rights Act The ''Canadian Human Rights Act'' (french: Loi canadienne sur les droits de la personne) is a statute passed by the Parliament of Canada in 1977 with the express goal of extending the law to ensure equal opportunity to individuals who may be vi ...

and the

Canadian Association of Broadcasters The Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) is a trade association representing the interests of commercial radio and television broadcasters in Canada. It is co-located with the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council in Ottawa. It was first e ...

Code of Ethics, Clause 7. CKYE-FM and the ''Harjinder Thind Show'' were required to air the decision and correction both in Punjabi and English.

Canadian Library Association

In 2012, Greene's publisher found that librarians would not review ''This High School Has Closets'' because they might provoke negative reactions from the public. This prompted the

Canadian Library Association The Canadian Library Association (CLA) was a national, predominantly English-language association which represented 57,000 library workers across Canada. It also spoke for the interests of the 21 million Canadians who are members of libraries. C ...

to reiterate their policy towards LGBT inclusiveness that would apply to "freedom of expression".

Works

*''The Gay Icon Classics of the World'' *''The Gay Icon Contemporary Short Stories'' *''This High School has Closets'' *''Crossover: Straight Men – Gay Encounters'' *''The Gay Icon Classics of the World II'' *''Would You Mind?'' *''The Forbidden Scroll'' *''The Counting of Sins''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Greene, Robert Joseph 1973 births Living people Canadian book editors Canadian romantic fiction writers Canadian gay writers Black Canadian writers Canadian children's writers Canadian male short story writers Writers from Vancouver Canadian writers of young adult literature 21st-century Canadian short story writers 21st-century Canadian male writers Black Canadian LGBT people