The Affectionate Shepherd

Thought by some scholars to be the "rival poet" of Shakespeare's sonnets, Richard Barnfield is best known for The Affectionate Shepherd, which appeared in 1594, published anonymously, and shocked many with its openly homosexual verse.

He apologized for any offense when he published a second volume two months later, but it, too, contained many explicitly homoerotic poems.

A later volume, The Passionate Pilgrim, is believed to contain poems written by both Barnfield and Shakespeare. .......... Watersgreen House is an independent international book publisher with editorial staff in the UK and USA.

One of our aims at Watersgreen House is to showcase same-sex affection in works by important gay and bisexual authors in ways which were not possible at the time the books were originally published.

We also publish nonfiction, including textbooks, as well as contemporary fiction that is literary, unusual, and provocative.