Orson Scott Card Pens Homophobic Rewrite of Shakespeare Classic

An independent publishing house is in the hot seat over their reprint of science fiction author and National Organization for Marriage board member Orson Scott Card‘s homophobic rewrite of Hamlet.

Hamlet’s Father, Card’s retelling of Hamlet, was first released as part of an anthology back in 2008. However, when Subterranean Press opted to publish a limited collector’s edition of Card’s novella, it ended up on the desk of William Alexander at Rain Taxi Review of Books. Alexander was stunned to find out the twist that Card felt wasn’t illustrated clearly enough in the Bard’s version of the tale:

Here’s the punch line: Old King Hamlet was an inadequate king because he was gay, an evil person because he was gay, and, ultimately, a demonic and ghostly father of lies who convinces young Hamlet to exact imaginary revenge on innocent people. The old king was actually murdered by Horatio, in revenge for molesting him as a young boy—along with Laertes, and Rosencrantz, and Guildenstern, thereby turning all of them gay. We learn that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are now “as fusty and peculiar as an old married couple. I pity the woman who tries to wed her way into that house.”

Hamlet is damned for all the needless death he inflicts, and Dead Gay Dad will now do gay things to him for the rest of eternity: “Welcome to Hell, my beautiful son. At last we’ll be together as I always longed for us to be.”

“All of this is as horrifying as it is ridiculous,” Alexander asserts. He goes on to strongly call out both the author — who has tried his hand at updating Shakespeare before — and the publisher for promoting something so ghastly:

The extent of the novella’s failure is surprising—and embarrassing, given that Card is a skilled veteran novelist and Subterranean a well-respected press. The most polite thing for us to do would be to walk away and quietly forget the whole painful exercise. But Card does not deserve our polite amnesia. His failures should be known and remembered, because the revelation in his “revelatory new version” turns out to be a nightmare of vitriolic homophobia.

Once Alexander’s review went viral, outcry from readers shocked by Hamlet’s Father inundated Subterranean Press, whose publisher Bill Schafer responded with a call for further feedback:

Let me first admit that these complaints about the novella have caught us flat-footed, in part because the work is a reprint. The novella had been published before in the 2008 anthology, The Ghost Quartet… Subterranean Press has had a fruitful publishing relationship with Orson Scott Card, and anticipated a collector’s edition of the novella would find an audience among his fans. We did not anticipate controversy for republishing a work which had received no controversy prior to our publication, and which remains in print elsewhere. Nevertheless, as publisher of Subterranean Press, I am responsible for everything we publish, and that means being ready to hear any complaints and criticisms about what we publish… We’re taking this seriously, and we value what you have to say to us.

The critical response to Hamlet’s Father marks an unfortunate turn away from the acclaim once afforded the author. His 1985 novel Ender’s Game and its sequel Speaker for the Dead both won Hugo and Nebula Awards, making Card the only author to win both of the nation’s top science fiction prizes in consecutive years.

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1. 

   Fletcher Wortmann says:

   September 14, 2011 at 6:00 am

   This was a real wasted opportunity. “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Gay” is a much catchier title.
2. 

   JaonXXXX says:

   October 2, 2011 at 5:18 pm

   THIS SHOULD BE A PORN!!!!11 Hawt
3. 

   KGSEAL says:

   October 3, 2011 at 9:12 pm

   Mr. Card has a history of anti-gay writing, although not necessarily in his fiction. He is Mormon, and as part of his faith, is homophobic (not intending to say all Mormans are). It is up to the individual reader, of course, to reconcile their own politics/feelings with that of the author’s. For me, it is quite close to a deal-breaker, as much as I love what I have read of his fiction.
4. 

   Aldeberan says:

   October 16, 2011 at 9:21 am

   this is ridiculous! the novella is not homophobic at a all, contrary to this article, which deliberately twists actual meaning of the book. First, Hamlet’s father is a pedophile and it is pedophilia that is condemned it the book. Second, Rosencrantz’s and Guildenstern’s are gay, but are not depicted in negative way, it is stated as a neutral fact. Yes, they were (plausibly, the book does not state it explicitly) “turned” gay because their childhood abuse. But childhood abuse can change adult sexual behavior. In one study 35% of gay men reported they were abused as childred (by the way, a coincidence, this group is more likely to live with a life-long parter, just as Rosencrantz and Guildenstern did, Card sure did his research)
5. 

   James says:

   December 8, 2011 at 5:43 pm

   “In one study 35% of gay men reported they were abused as children”. In one study it was proven that the moon is made out of cheese. Being a gay man with an identical upbringing to three hetero siblings I know that sexuality is something you’re born with. As for Orson Scott Card, I loved Ender’s Game but it was weird reading it as I also read his dreadfully aloof and misinformed homophobic essays. Although I can’t help but admire his excellent fiction writing I equally despise him for the rabid views this man unwaveringly subscribes to. I’ve always thought of him as a bitter old closet-queen anyway