Archives June 2010 Nancy Stockwell

In April, we received additions to the Nancy Stockwell Papers (GLC 47). Stockwell was a writer and a professional golfer. Her papers contain correspondence, subject files, diaries, and draft and print copies of Stockwell’s writings. Most of the material covers the years 1975 through 1998.

In 1966 Nancy graduated from the University of Kansas with a Master’s degree in Speech/Theatre. That same year she moved to Boston, Massachusetts and began her career as a writer. The unpublished novella “Lucky Girls” chronicles her early days in Boston.

In 1973 Stockwell moved to Berkeley, California where she became one of the founding mothers of the journals Plexus (1974-1977) and The Bright Medusa. It is at this time that she makes the acquaintance of members of the early lesbian-feminist movement. Her correspondents include Nancy Bereano, Sandy Boucher, Sandra Dasmann, Cynthia Gair, Barbara Grier, Bertha Harris, and Helaine Harris. There is a small amount of correspondence with such notables as: Jane Rule, Adrienne Rich, Eudora Welty, Minnie Bruce Pratt, Charlotte Bunch, and Margie Adam.

In 1977 Nancy returned to the east coast and in 1978 her book Out Somewhere and Back Again: the Kansas stories was published. Nancy is pictured (above) at the first (1979) gay and lesbian march on Washington, D.C. where she was living at the time. In 1980 she began managing the Lambda Rising Bookstore in D.C. and was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention.

In 1985 she was admitted into the Ladies Professional Golf Association. Stockwell became the first female golf club professional in San Francisco at Harding/Lincoln Parks in 1987.

Nancy Stockwell was born in Paola, Kansas in 1940 and was diagnosed with bronchiectasis, a congenital pulmonary disorder, in 1951. She moved back home due to failing health in 1992 and underwent successful double lung transplant surgery in 1998. Sadly, Nancy died at the Kansas University Medical Center on March 13, 1999 due to complications from the lung transplants and immuno-suppression.

The Nancy Stockwell Papers (GLC 47) are available through the San Francisco History Center, 6th floor, Main Library.

Happy Birthday Harvey Milk!

Harvey Milk was born on May 22, 1930 in Woodmere Long Island to middle-class, Jewish parents. He arrived in San Francisco in 1972, an era of massive gay and lesbian migration. Queers from all over the country were pouring into the city and, much like the way the freaks and hippies settled into the Haight Ashbury neighborhood, they were staking out territory in the mostly Irish, working-class neighborhood that was called Eureka Valley.

It was on Castro Street in this neighborhood that Milk opened his camera shop, Castro Camera in 1972.

Milk had made three unsuccesful runs for politcal office before eventually winning the job of supervisior of District 5 in 1977, becoming the first openly gay elected official in San Francisco history.

As a supervisor he fought for protection against discrimination in employment and housing for gay San Franciscans. He worked on legislation to protect the rights of workers, the elderly and minorities. Another focus of his 11 month supervisorial stint as was for the preservation of the character of San Francisco neighborhoods that were moving toward unbridled gentrification.

On November 27th, 1978 supervisor Dan White assasinated both Harvey Milk and mayor George Moscone in their respective offices in city hall. Dan White was later sentenced to only seven years in prison, claiming that his judgement was impaired due to consumption of fast food. This "legal" theory became known as the "twinkie defense."

On the night of Dan White's sentencing, outraged, mostly queer, Californians burned police cars and rioted in protest of the verdict, an event that became known as the "White Night Riot."

The San Francisco Public Library holds two separate archival collections of Harvey Milk's papers and photographs and welcomes members of the public to come in and peruse these materials. To the right is a sample of a letter from Harvey Milk to Joe Campbell, dated 1961, lamenting the end of their relationship.

May 22nd, the day that would have been Milk's 80th birthday has been declared the first Harvey Milk Day. The Biblioqueers of the Queerest Library Ever salute him on his day and commemorate his pride and determination, his great contributions to both the LGBT movement, and the city of San Francisco and his relentless dedication to equality for all people.

Archives May 2010: One Man's Labor of Love

May Day seems the most appropriate day to announce the acquisition of the Howard Wallace Papers by the Hormel Center. Wallace is a gay labor and peace activist who is perhaps best known as a co-founder of Pride at Work (PAW), previously named the Lesbian and Gay Labor Alliance. He was one of the founders of Bay Area Gay Liberation (BAGL) in 1975 and, with Harvey Milk, he led the Coors Beer boycott that began the same year. This photograph by Howard Petrick shows Wallace (in sunglasses).

Howard's activism in Denver, Colorado and in San Francisco over the last 30 years has centered on equal rights for all regardless of sexual orientation or race. He is a tireless advocate for coalition building between communities in order to forge alliances based on mutually identified goals.

A contemporary of Harvey Milk and Randy Shilts, Wallace ran for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1975 against Milk, among others. Though neither won that election, Milk was elected in 1977.

Wallace organized the first March On Washington for Gay Rights in 1979. He is currently involved with Senior Action Network (SAN), and the San Francisco Labor Council.

Some of the interesting pieces in his Papers include materials on the Coors Boycott, the Florida Orange Juice Boycott, the anti-Briggs Initiative (i.e. No On 6) campaign regarding gay/lesbian teachers in California, materials on housing plans in San Francisco, peace activism and the Yes on N campaign to bring U.S. troops out of Iraq. He is also a long-time proponent of health care unions.



Because the Howard Wallace Papers are a very recent acquisition and not yet organized, they are not currently available for research. All Hormel Center archives are handled through the San Francisco History Center, 6th floor, Main Library. For questions, please contact the San Francisco History Center reference desk at 415-557-4567.

The LGBT Community and Aging

The issues associated with aging present varied challenges for lesbians, gays, bisexual and transgender people. This book, "Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Aging: Research and Clinical Perspectives," edited by Douglas Kimmel, Tara Rose and Steven David is an anthology adressing the special needs of our aging community. These include sexuality, physical and mental health, alcohol and substance abuse, legal concerns and end-of-life decision making to name only a few. The chapters range in tone from a clinical data format to more informal and conversational. For interested Bay Area folks, there is also a chapter on the founding of openhouse, the local LGBT retirement housing organization in San Francisco. This anthology with its wide-ranging scope and pertinent information this book is a valuable resource for clinicians, aging LGBTs and those who are involved in their lives.
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Other Queer Elder Issues in the News:

The fight for LGBT equal rights in the Social Security System is in full swing. Representative Linda Sanchez is introduced a bill to equalize coverage and the web site rockforequality.org

is also active in the campaign. Check out their videos which include the science fiction classic, "What Kind of Planet Are We On?" and "Portraits of Discrimination."

The National Center for Lesbian Rights is taking on the case of Harold Scull and Clay Greene, an elderly gay couple who had been together twenty years. up until the day that Scull fell down the front steps of their house in Sonoma. At that point, Scull was hospitalized and the men were forcibly separated. Greene was treated as simply his "roommate" and the couty sold off the home and all their joint property. According to the Bay Area Reporter article "Other than a suitcase of his belongings and a photo book Harold made for him, Clay Greene has nothing left of his former life."

Archives April 2010: A Well Developed Body of Work

Photographs of physique model Tony Sansone

In July 2009, the Hormel Center received a small box from an anonymous donor. It contained 20 black and white photographs and a small book titled Rhythm (Brooklyn, NY: 1935). The photos and book feature beautiful studies of Anthony (Tony) J. Sansone, a physique model and dancer.

A letter accompanying the donation explained that Leonard Laton once owned the book and photographs and gave them to the donor for safe-keeping in the 1950s. Unfortunately, the donor lost track of Laton. Now, decades later, he has sent the material to the Hormel Center in Laton's name. The donor describes Laton as a German Jewish gay man who “escaped the Nazi holocaust, fled to Canada and then established citizenship in the United States. He was a gentle, intelligent, cultured person, interested in photography, and nature particularly horticulture.”

Collections of male physique photographs are not uncommon in the papers of gay men. This collection contains 20 black and white photographs of Tony Sansone; most are nudes and 10 images are reprinted in Rhythm. One photo is inscribed: “For Leonhard Laton, with every friendly wish, Tony Sansone, 1955.”

A protégé of Charles Atlas, Sansone was a much sought-after model for photographers and artists during the late 1920s and 1930s. He worked extensively with Edwin Townsend, Achille Volpe and, in later years, worked some with Lon of New York. Townsend and Sansone collaborated on Modern Classics (1929) and Rhythm (1935). The introduction to Rhythm is by the sculptor Arthur Lee and includes photographs of Lee's bronze sculpture of Sansone.

Sansone became a gym owner in New York. For a complete biography, see John Massey's American Adonis: Tony Sansone, the first male physique icon (New York: Universe, 2004). Massey's book places Sansone within the context of the burgeoning physical culture of the early 20th century.

The Leonard Laton Collection of Anthony (Tony) J. Sansone Photographs (GLC 62) is available through the San Francisco History Center, 6th floor, Main Library.

Frida Kahlo: Song of Herself

For Frida Kahlo afficionados Salomon Grimberg's Frida Kahlo: Song of Herself is a condensed version of the artist's life in both her own words and the words of her friend, Olga Campos. Salomon Grimberg, the author, is a Kahlo expert and an art historian. Throughout the book he intersperses fragments of Kahlo's ideology with lesser known drawings, paintings and photographs making this book a must see for those who think they are familiar with Kahlo's work. They include this one to the right called "The Mask" from 1945. The accompanying text includes insights, interviews, articles along with a chronological medical history of a woman who struggled with illness and chronic pain for the duration of her short life.

It is fascinating to contrast the views of Grimberg and Campos with those of Kahlo herself. On the issue of Frida's bisexuality Grimberg says, "Kahlo gradually took lovers of both genders in order to avoid feelings of emptiness." Campos rationalizes, "I do not think she was a true homosexual. If she had sex with other women, it would not have been for love or attraction but to satisfy her frustrated eroticism and vanity." But Kahlo states concisely,"Homosexuality is very correct, very good."

Kahlo, a politically active Communist, is also is quoted as saying, "I would fight in a war but imperialistic war is idiotic." Elaborating she states that"the class struggle, even armed, is very important." Yet her overall world view is considerably softer. She believes, "love is the basis of all life," confides that," I have enjoyed being contradictory." Then finally concedes, "I do not believe in anyone's honesty, not even mine."

For more on Frida check out this article from Woman's Art Journal: "Fashioning National Identity: Frida Kahlo in 'Gringolandia'."

Lambda Literary Foundation and San Francisco Public Library Host Lammy Finalists

Our annual reading by finalists for the year's Lambda Literary Awards is one of our most inspiring and enjoyable events. On April 13 Lambda Literary Foundation's new E.D. Tony Valenzuela and LLF Board President (and prolific author) Katherine Forrest hosted 15 writers, who each packed into a 5-minute segment an unique and personal expression of the LGBT experience.

While each author was engaging, it's impossible in a short article to describe each presentation. Here are a couple of highlights: Tommi Avicolli-Mecca read from the anthology he edited called Smash the Church, Smash the State: The Early Years of Gay Liberation, which describes the lives of lesbians, gay men, and trans folks in many US cities and rural communities, long before the fight for Same-Sex Marriage Rights overshadowed a movement less concerned with assimilation.

Cinderella with a twist? Ash, Malinda Lo's young adult novel brings romance and fantasy together and her strong female protagonist will excite many readers. Ash was also nominated for a Northern California Book Award. Minal Hajratwala's Leaving India: My Family's Journey from Five Villages to Five Continents brought forth a gender-blending side of Indian culture through transcendent language. And Patrick Latellier presented his essay on his personal diva, Queen Elizabeth the First (from the anthology My Diva: 65 Gay Men on the Women Who Inspired Them.
The 22nd Lambda Literary Awards will be held on Thursday, May 27 at the School of Visual Arts Theatre in New York City.

For Dust Thou Art: Poems by Timothy Liu

In honor of National Poetry Month, this week's book is "For Dust Thou Art: Poems by Timothy Liu." Liu is an associate professor of English at William Paterson University and has published five previous collections of poetry. His biography in Poetry Magazine further describes him as "an Asian, Mormon, gay man."

This collection is divided into three parts and it is an odd threesome. The first part is infused with a vibrant eroticism,"A taste/of oil and salt glistening on those toasted bodies."Part two zeroes in on the tragedy of the World Trade Center, "The liminal edge/of what has been--the suspension/of daily activity where what is/possible outweighs the probable." And part three rises up and looks down on both the transient nature of the human condition as well as the, sometimes inexplicable, will to go on, "nostalgia's shade a load of leaves/from a tree that no longer stands."

Liu has a facility for accessible poetry that leaves a haunting sadness. It chronicles the mundane, material aspects of the world while, at the same time, elevating them to something that reaches upward into the human spirit.