COVE

This gallery image is a photograph of Craig Rodwell, Tennessee Williams, and Oscar Wilde Memorial Bookshop staff standing outside the shop in 1976. This photograph showcases how the Oscar Wilde Memorial Bookshop became a center and community spot for people who are a part of the LGBT community and a place for LGBT writers to come and showcase themselves to people who have similar experiences. Authors like Harvey Fierstein, Johnathon Katz, Rita Mae Brown, and other writers whose craft was focused on the LGBT community got to do signings and greetings of their works, helping their marginalized voices be heard (NYC LGBT). Not only did authors have the opportunity to expand on their careers, but Oscar Wilde Memorial Bookshop inspired consumers of literature to expand on LGBT literature and give it more places to grow and spread. Booksellers started buying LGBT titles and selling them at meetings or through their apartments, until 1980 when there were queer bookstores in over 20 cities across the United States (Villemez). These queer bookstores became a community on their own, constantly sharing news and ideas so that they would all grow and be successful in spreading the word of their cause.

Being one of these stores was not easy on the owners, sellers, and bookstore staff because they still often faced vandalism and harassment for being against societal norms. This harassment happened especially because Bookshops like the Oscar Wilde Memorial Bookshop had glass windows, and shoppers could be seen inside, which is not typical for other places like gay bars where outsiders cannot see into the bar. Despite the vandalism and harassment, these bookstores became safe places for people to go and help discover who they are and find a community that supports them. This environment that bookstores like the Oscar Wilde Memorial Bookshop created helped give people in the LGBT community courage and strength to continue fighting for their rights as human beings.

Works Cited

Craig Rodwell Papers, https://archives.nypl.org/mss/2606.

Jason Villemez, et al. “Authors and Activism: A History of LGBT Bookstores.” Out In Jersey, 29 Sept. 2019, https://outinjersey.net/authors-and-activism-a-history-of-lgbt-bookstores/.

“Oscar Wilde Memorial Bookshop.” NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project, 2017, https://www.nyclgbtsites.org/site/oscar-wilde-memorial-bookshop-2/.