APRIL ¿0, 2007 JUStOUt«1
and authors as anything else, that uses queer histo
ry as a springboard for the author’s wild experi
ments in style. Twenty-four pages are taken up with
an epic poem by “Vilja de Tanguay, male actress."
Another section corrals a ton of alleged drag queen
quotes. Strewn throughout are long movie reviews
that include detailed opinions from other critics.
Here’s the opening few sentences of a typical
paragraph: “On the Road to Manhood-Delayed
definitely indefinitely. Forsaking all other ambi
tions than digging it. Instead, every time I’d look
out the Seen ¡cruiser’s window, I’d see road for the
sake of road and torment myself with fantasies of
Jack, trying when they became overbearing, to float
in my mind the Russian steppes, another plentitude
of Nothing, hard to dig, but negotiable.” Hard to
dig indeed. This incomprehensible, crazy-quilt
effect brought Queer Street some grxxl reviews from
the lit establishment, which eats up such preten
tious stuff. But The New York Times’ assessment that
the book “takes your breath away” is accurate in
a way it might not have intended. The reader
might feel literally asphyxiated by this tidal wave of
“sensibility" that ultimately is about little more
than the author and his private interests.
more inviting (certainly more intelligible) read
is Provincetown: From Pilgrim Landing to Gay
Resort (New York University Press, 2007; $18.95
softcover). Karen Christel Krahulik has extensive
ly researched the history of this gay enclave, inter
viewing locals and delving deeply into the archive.
The result is a fascinating portrait of a town in
a more or less constant transition, from its early
Pilgrim landing days through the arrival df
Portuguese sailors to its status as a Yankee vacation
spot to its present incarnation (which started many
decades ago) as one of a handful of instantly
identifiable gay enclaves.
Provincetoum is most exciting when it moves
into its homo phase, with Krahulik amusingly
recounting the chaotic intermingling of Portuguese
locals and Yankee bluebloods with homy sailors,
lesbian shopkeepers and drag queens cavorting
through rhe streets by day and into the sand dunes
A
You Go, Girls
PROVINCETOWN
Kjtin < Jlll'ld ktjhuliK
directed by
for a wild tryst by night. The hook traces the on
going push for visibility, particularly by the queens,
and the inevitable pushback by offended straights
who feared “the boys” would corrupt their children.
As often as not, gcxxi sense and a realization of
economic realities—the gay populace tended to be
successful in business—trumped narrow-mindedness,
and the fags and dykes carried on. This tug-of-war
filigrees the narrative, with religious zealots popping
up periodically to drive out the queers. (No doubt the
sign one brazen queen erected reading “Legalize Butt-
Fucking!" helped encourage the Jesus freaks.)
The book is also a welcome reminder that the
cliché of gay men and lesbians at odds is often only
a cliché. While there were times of disconnect
between the two, just as often they got along fine,
collaborating in businesses and joining hands to
create a model of responsiveness to AIDS that
was copied throughout the country. Provincetown
is a rich history of a modest seaport that queer folk
have helped make vibrant and fun during even the
most troubled times. ©
Oregon Porter's Association
Twenty-Fifth Annual Show & Sale
—.
Different Daughters: A History of the Daughters of Bilitis and the Rise of the
Lesbian Rights Movement (Carroll & Graf, 2006; $25.95 hardcover) is an
enjoyable book about a group of San Francisco women who came together
in 1955. They were looking for a way to meet other lesbians in a safe
DIFFERENT
environment, but years later the club grew into national organization
DAUGHTERS
handling major issues such as legal and civil rights.
*
o » rm
Marcia M. Gallo carefully blends the history of DOB with the rise of the
lesbian movement as well as the rise of the general gay rights movement.
..
1 1 1
• 1
1
1
I »'«»UN KK.HIS M<»\ I Ml N I
However, her book is at its best when she concentrates on the women who
joined DOB and when she discusses the history of its publication, The Ladder.
Gallo spent many hours interviewing various DOB members, and it
shows in her writing as she carefully describes their backgrounds and personalities. Throughout the book,
she follows the story of Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin from their early days with DOB to their historic
2004 wedding in San Francisco. But she also introduces the reader to lesser-known members such as
Natalie Lando, who painstakingly typed The Ladder on her “cranky old Underwixxl”
The first issue of The Ladder was published in October 1956. Gallo maintains the publication “marked
DOB as a group committed not only to socializing but to social change.” Some of the early issues
contained heated debates about lesbian pulp fiction, with their flashy covers and tragic endings. Members
disagreed with the way lesbians were represented in those novels. They thought The Ladder was doing
a far better job of improving the self-image and respect for lesbians. In 1970, a few members removed
The Ladder from the protection of DOB and began publishing it themselves. Gallo writes of the maga
zine, “Like a good film noir story, it started with a murder and ended with a theft." She is careful to
present both sides of the story and lets the reader determine if the publication was stolen or saved.
This is a book well worth adding to your library of lesbian history.
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