Faggots in the library?

Well, of course. We’ve always been here, flipping through dusty page after page, trying to find representations of ourselves that were honest and unafraid. Before we went to the bars or took a peak in the bushes, we turned to books for inspiration and stimulation. The books we found were often filled with stereotypes or, even worse, bad writing. But we’ve kept coming back, and even today, when the Internet is supposed to make connecting so easy and online cruising has become so respectable (and horrible), we’re still searching the library for those revolutionary texts that are going to let us know that we are not alone, and give us the tools to challenge the status quo. And now, finally, a book that is not afraid to flaunt its faggotry in all its flaming glory, Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore’s newest anthology, Why Are Faggots So Afraid of Faggots: Flaming Challenges to Masculinity, Objectification, and the Desire to Conform, is coming out on Valentine’s Day, 2012! In celebration of this exciting moment in queer book history, the James C. Hormel Gay and Lesbian Center of the San Francisco Public Library would like to invite you to the official book launch event, including a lively and stimulating discussion with contributors Jaime Cortez, Tommi Avicolli Mecca, Debanuj DasGupta, Booh Edouardo, Eric Stanley, Harris Kornstein, Gina de Vries, Horehound Stillpoint, Matthew D. Blanchard, and your host and editor Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore. This Valentine’s Day treat starts at 6pm in the, Latino/Hispanic Community Meeting Room in the lower level of the Main Library.

Through thirty different essays from a wide range of authors, several of them from the Bay Area, this anthology challenges the current dismal state of mainstream gay culture, asking questions and offering possibilities that go beyond consumerism and cocktails. The essays knock gaping holes into the vapidity that has come to translate as the de rigueur markings of gay culture. And in a time when assimilation through marriage, the military, and, oh yes, money, has become unquestioning and unquestionable, this anthology dares to provoke from inside the annals of gay culture. Here are links to a couple of glowing reviews: Publisher's Weekly and New York Journal of Books.

See you there!

Archives January 2012

New Accession: Black Lesbian Newsletter / Onyx

As we begin February and the celebration of Black History Month, it seemed the right time to highlight a small but important collection of newsletters that we received last year. Black Lesbian Newsletter was published in San Francisco and, later, Berkeley in the early- to mid-1980s. Its working title changed to Onyx as the result of suggestions from its readership. The newsletter was the brainchild of Laverne Gagehabib, A.C. Barber and Vivienne Walker-Crawford.

The first issue of Black Lesbian Newsletter begins with a "Dear Readers" column which describes the purpose of the publication. The newsletter includes poems, drawings, political perspectives, photographs, book reviews, event listings, personals, and some business listings. Later issues contain illustrations such as the one above by Sarita Johnson.

We received 14 issues dating from June 1982 through October/November 1984 with some issues missing. A complete list follows.

Black Lesbian Newsletter: v. 1 (1) June 1982; v. 1 (4) October 1982; v. 1. (5) November 1982; v. 1. (6) December 1982.

Onyx: Black Lesbian Newsletter: v. 2 ([1]) February 1983; v. 2 (2) April/May 1983; v. 2 (4) August/September 1983; v. 2 (5) October/November 1983; v. 2 (6) December 1983/January 1984; v. 3 (1) February/March 1984; v. 3 (2) April/May 1984; v. 3 (3) June/July 1984; v. 3 (4) August/September 1984; v. 3 (5) October/November 1984.

The collection also includes two mounted newsletter covers, as well as related materials on the Bay Area Black Lesbian Political Caucus. The group was formed by Vivienne Crawford, Joyce Penalver, and Brenda Crawford. The Bay Area Black Lesbian Political Caucus materials include a grant proposal sent to the Vanguard Public Foundation in 1989 and the minutes of the first meeting.

This collection is a recent accession and not yet available to the public. 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.

Archives December 2011

Berner vs. Briggs Collection

A recent addition to the Hormel Center's archival collections is a box of material from the legal case of Lawrence Berner vs. John Briggs, et al. The suit was filed as a result of the November 1978 California ballot Proposition 6, which sought to prohibit openly GLBT persons from teaching. Prop. 6 was based on the belief that GLBT school teachers are not suitable role models for children and on the fear of inappropriate conduct towards their students.

State senator John Briggs sponsored the proposition, which became commonly known as the "Briggs Initiative." In addition to Briggs, Prop. 6 was supported by Anita Bryant and the organization Save Our Children. Bryant had recently experienced success in mobilizing an anti-gay rights movement in Miami-Dade County, Florida.

Lawrence Berner, a gay school teacher in the Healdsburg, California school system, was singled out by Briggs and became a rallying point for the "No on 6" campaign. Due to significant political mobilization by Gwen Craig, Tom Ammiano, Harvey Milk, Hank Wilson, Bill Kraus, Sally Gearhart, and many GLBT community members, the proposition did not pass in California. The "No on 6" campaign was also supported by political heavyweights Ronald Reagan, Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter.

After the proposition was defeated, Berner sued John Briggs, Save Our Children, Lee Lee (the president of the Healdsburg Public School Board) and 99 anonymous defendants listed as "Does 1-99." Berner filed the suit in 1979 and he won in 1982.

This collection focuses on the lawsuit and contains documents and exhibits regarding the pertinent events of 1978. It includes depositions by John Briggs and several other key figures in the Prop. 6 story. Of special note are scientific articles and doctors' testimony used in support of Berner's suit. Doctors David Kessler and Ernest van den Haag were the primary expert witnesses regarding the then-current scientific thought on homosexuality, children, role models, sexuality, gender identity, and pedophilia. The collection contains some correspondence with Kessler and van den Haag, as well as their depositions and copies of selected journal articles.

Because the Berner vs. Briggs collection is a very recent acquisition and not yet organized, it is not currently available for research. Two archival collections here at the library contain related material: the Harvey Milk Archives-Scott Smith Collection and the Randy Shilts Papers. The Milk-Smith collection contains several files on the Briggs Initiative and the notes of Milk's debate with John Briggs. The Shilts Papers' Journalism series contains drafts and notes on different stories that Shilts wrote. Some of the files from 1977 concern Anita Bryant, Miami-Dade County and the repeal of the gay rights ordinance there. Later files in 1978 contain stories on Proposition 6, John Briggs, Save Our Children and the election results in San Francisco and California.

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.

Archives November 2011

JAMES RAMP
Last summer Charles Schermerhorn donated three charming poetry books written by James H. Ramp. Ramp was born on August 20, 1898 and died in San Francisco on February 15, 1968 at the age of 69. In addition to his poetry, short stories and novels, he wrote the play The Grand Illusion in 1936. His work is in only a few libraries around the world.

The donated books were originally sent by Ramp to George Brammer of 641 O'Farrell Street in San Francisco. One untitled book of typewritten poems is signed: "A few of the latest for George -- J 1929." The Feet of Beauty was printed at Pacific Press Printers, 228 McAllister St., San Francisco; it is similarly inscribed: "George -- J[im] 1929." A third paperbound booklet titled Afterwhiles was printed by The Herald Printing Co., Fredonia, Kansas, for the Fredonia High School class of 1918.

Mr. Schermerhorn has made other book donations to the Hormel Center's collection. Some of those titles are now part of the pulp novel collection which was primarily established through the archival and book donations of Barbara Grier and Donna McBride. Grier and McBride collected literature that touched upon GLBT relationships and they maintained a card file of these books with entries for each author. Their card file includes references to four of Ramp's short story collections.

In The Ideal Gay Man: The Story of Der Kreis, Hubert Kennedy includes the following entry on Ramp's work in Der Kreis: "Another San Francisco writer was James Ramp...His first short story was published in April 1965; it was followed by seven more before the end of 1967. There were also four poems by him. ... Ramp's stories could best be described as gay fantasies. The characters are often working-class men who don't fit in because they love opera or read Walter Pater, for example. They usually have a large [pen!$] and are hungry for sex, but hold out for true love, which they always find at the end of the story, after intervening difficulties. And they apparently 'live happily ever after': one story mentions that a couple has been together for ten years, another for fifteen. The writing is entertaining, with many amusing puns. It's all too good to be true-but fun."

The library's pulp collection includes Consenting Adult, The Love Smeller, A Far Country, This Fierce Heart and Wild Strawberry Patch. There is also a poem by Ramp in the anthology In Homage to Priapus.

Taking on the (In)justice System

In a time of increasing protest it is important to know your enemies as well as your friends. The book, "Queer (In)justice: The Criminalization of LGBT People in the United States," by Joey L. Mogul, Andrea J. Ritchie and Kay Whitlock, makes evident that the struggle toward LGBT equality involves a lot more than marriage rights or inclusion in the military. Queer history in the hands of the legal system, is rife with media slander, prejudice, sexual abuse and selective, draconian punishment singled out to members of the LGBT community. The authors, two distinguished lawyers and one Quaker peace and justice activist powerfully document the systemic campaign by the powers that be to wipe out all expressions of gender non-conformity. Here is an in-depth review of this ground-breaking book from The Daily Kos blog.

And, speaking of the Daily Kos blog, our next book is a how-to guide, "Taking on the System: Rules for Radical Change in a Digital Era," written by Markos Moulitsas Zuniga, committed ally of all things progressive and queer and the founder of that aforementioned award winning, foreward-thinking, political blog. In this book he presents a step by step guide to muckracking, rabble-rousing and initiating change in this digital age. In spite of the high-tech gloss, his rules for fighting the good fight are old-fashioned and clear, his examples concrete, his energy inexhaustible and his belief in truth begetting eventual justice, inspiring.

Reading: "Milk and Honey"--September 13th

On Tuesday September 13th 6-8pm sponsored by the Hormel LGBT Center mark the publication of Julie Enszer's anthology "Milk and Honey: A Celebration of Jewish Lesbian Poetry" with a reading by local contributors. Here Julie Enszer's description of the book:

"In this land of Milk and Honey poems flow. Contemporary Jewish, lesbian poets address an array of experiences--relationships between and among women, family relationships, politics, solitude, ethical responsibilities, history, solidarity and community. With language and imagery that moves from the sensual and political to the tender and serene, "Milk and Honey" explores the vibrant, complicated, exhilarating experience of being Jewish and lesbian--or queer--in the world today."

Local contributors: Elana Nachman, Ellen Bass and Joan Annsfire will read from their work as well as the work of others. The reading will be held in the Latino Conference room across from the Cafe in the lower level of the Main Library.

Archives August 2011

Serendipity in the Archives

As I was looking for something of interest this month, I happened upon a letter written by Harvey Milk to his friend Susan Davis in September 1960. At that time Hurricane Donna ravaged the Atlantic Coast of the U.S. from Florida to Maine. Harvey writes about the expected arrival of the hurricane. Since Hurricane Irene has been all over the news lately, Harvey's letter provides an unexpected connection to events 51 years ago.

Of course, not every moment is newsworthy. For each letter, diary entry, or photograph that evokes a historical moment, there are many more that touch on the daily happenings and occasional milestones in ordinary people's lives. These can be equally interesting to peruse, as they provide glimpses into bygone eras and places and into the concerns and hopes of the people living then.

With that in mind, I selected another letter from the Harvey Milk-Susan Davis Alch collection (GLC 19). In this letter, Harvey congratulates Sue on her recent wedding to George Alch and muses on marriage, his home life with Joe Campbell and the wonderful city of San Francisco (where Sue and George got married). These letters provide insight into Harvey's personal life, his thoughts and his sense of humor.

The two letters highlighted in this post are merely the tip of the iceberg. The library's archival collections are full of such captured moments--from the mundane, ordinary and quite personal to the life-altering, history-making and public. If you are interested in looking at original historical materials, such as the Harvey Milk-Susan Davis Alch letters, please visit the San Francisco History Center, 6th floor, Main Library.

Archives July 2011

Barbara Cameron Papers

Here's a late "July" archives post. Just recently I was re-examining some smaller archival collections to find good candidates to prepare for public use. Among these the Barbara Cameron Papers (2 cartons). This is a jewel box of a collection as each item invites further inspection and contemplation.

Barbara Cameron (May 22, 1954-February 12, 2002) was a Native American (Lakota Sioux) lesbian activist, poet and writer. She was raised by her grandparents on the Standing Rock Reservation (North and South Dakota), and moved to San Francisco in the 197os. In 1975 she co-founded Gay American Indians with Randy Burns. She counted among her friends the Native American poet and activist Chrystos, and there are a few pieces in the Papers that are written by Chrystos and dedicated to Cameron.

The Papers also include speeches, poems and other writings by Cameron. Her subjects include the challenges of being gay within the Native American community, being Native American within the LGBT community, racism, nature, violence and death, acceptance, activism, and alcoholism. Her Papers also include material on the different political groups with which she was affiliated, including the Alice B. Toklas Democratic Club.

The Barbara Cameron Papers are not yet ready for public use but I expect them to be ready by the end of 2011. The Papers will be available through the San Francisco History Center, 6th floor, Main Library.