Resident Alien
Quentin Crisp
Englishman, wit and self described “naked civil servant,” Crisp is at his very best and brightest when describing the wonders of his new life in New York City, undertaken when the author was in his seventies. Crisp ogles skyscrapers and the accepting culture of the United States, which he describes as a world of relief after seventy plus years as an outcast in England for both his homosexuality and his indiscreet femme style of dress.
“A man saw me on the street today and said ‘My, haven’t you got it all on today,’ ” Crisp related in one story, letting readers know the approach included a smile and a good natured laugh. In England, Crisp tells us, the comment would have included a sneer and an accusation of “Who do you think you are?”
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