Jun
23
4:00pm
Jeremy Atherton Lin: Gay Bar - Why We Went Out
By TPLCulture
Strobing lights and dark rooms; throbbing house and drag queens on counters; first kisses, last call: the gay bar has long been a place of solidarity and sexual expression—whatever your scene, whoever you’re seeking. But in urban centres around the world, they are closing, a cultural demolition that has Jeremy Atherton Lin wondering: What was the gay bar? How have they shaped him? And could this spell the end of gay identity as we know it? In Gay Bar: Why We Went Out, the author embarks upon a transatlantic tour of the hangouts that marked his life, with each club, pub, and dive revealing itself to be a palimpsest of queer history. He charts police raids and riots, posing and passing out—and a chance encounter one restless night that would change his life forever. The journey that emerges is a stylish and nuanced inquiry into the connection between place and identity—a tale of liberation, but one that invites us to go beyond the simplified Stonewall mythology and enter lesser-known battlefields in the struggle to carve out a territory. Elegiac, randy, and sparkling with wry wit, Gay Bar is at once a serious critical inquiry, a love story and an epic night out to remember.
Jeremy Atherton Lin talks to Richard “Bugs” Burnett about Gay Bar as a love story to going out.
About this event’s guests:
Jeremy Lin Atherton
Richard Burnett
Photo of author courtesy of Jamie Atherton.
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This event is part of our Pride Month celebrations for June 2021. For events, reading lists, videos and more, check out TPL’s Pride Celebrations webpage.
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Our new summer books series serves up fascinating ideas and engaging conversations with authors of some of the hottest books around. Join us online Wednesdays and Fridays at noon, wherever you are. All events are free and presented on the TPL Culture channel on Crowdcast.
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Toronto Public Library is committed to accessibility. Please call or email us if you are Deaf or have a disability and would like to request accommodation to participate in this program. Please let us know as far in advance as possible and we will do our best to meet your request. At least three weeks’ notice is preferred. Phone 416-393-7099 or email [email protected]
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TPLCulture
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