Smash the Church, Smash the State!: The Early Years of Gay LiberationTommi Avicolli Mecca City Lights Publishers, Jun 5, 2009 - 256 pages Smash the Church, Smash the State! is a finalist for this year's Lambda Awards in the category of LGBT Anthologies. Nominated for the American Library Association's 2010 Stonewall Book Award, the oldest book award given for outstanding achievement in Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered Literature From the first high heel thrown at Stonewall to the last performance of the drag burlesque group the Cockettes, enter the wild days of the late '60s and early '70s with the individuals who lived them! Celebrating 40 years since the June 1969 Stonewall Riots, the essays, manifestos, artwork and photos in this anthology represent a group of radical activists who together formed the ranks of the Gay Liberation Movement. "2, 4, 6, 8, Smash the Church, Smash the State!" was a rallying cry for many in those days, and the lesbians, gay men and transgenders whose stories are collected here were frequently involved in battling oppression on many fronts. For the first time together in one volume, these writers share unique perspectives, occasional regrets and changes of ideology, personal memories, and a celebration of the revolutionary spirit that shaped and guided the movement. Praise for Smash the Church, Smash the State!: "Smash the Church, Smash the State! offers an intoxicating glimpse into that time before 'pride' replaced liberation, when 'gay' was still a fiery threat to the violence of the status quo, and revolution was right around the corner from the corner store. Full of brash, contradictory, intoxicating dreams, the essays in this anthology invoke the sexual flamboyance, intellectual rigor, activist troublemaking and communal possibilities of a different era while simultaneously offering bracing critiques." "The personal is riotously political and the history is tangibly personal in these diverse, down-to-earth reflections on the early days of Gay Liberation, that heady era of Stonewall, getting stoned, and lobbing metaphorical (and actual) stones at our oppressors. Avicolli Mecca has woven a colorful tapestry of first-person accounts that is reflective and emotional, joyous and poignant – and ever defiant." "This book vividly recreates the thrilling and euphoric moments of gay liberation in the wake of Stonewall, with the added wisdom and grace of 40 years of hindsight." "A proud testimony to the brave people who stood up to be counted for our right to love and live any way we pleased. Their spirit and struggle will resonate forever, inspiring, I hope, many others." |
Contents
Eighth Grade Epiphany | 11 |
Banned No More in Boston | 31 |
My Memories as a Gay Militant in NYC | 48 |
Copyright | |
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