Join Dr Kathy Liddle and Dr Sarah Pyke as they present their work on feminist and queer bookstores as places of contested cultural interactions. (The recording starts a minute or so into the first talk with my apologies to Kathy.)
Chat transcript
- 00:40:39 Andrew Wertheimer: Did this space differ greatly by community, such as how we see red and blue states now. I imagine it was more important in some communities.
- 00:43:54 Andrew Wertheimer: (I recall AMAZON (the original feminist one) in Minneapolis and ROOM OF ONE”S OWN in Madison with different vibes. I think there were some LGBTQIA+ attempted killings in the park near Amazon bookstore maybe in the 80s.
- 00:45:55 Julie R. Enszer: I really love this community interaction space idea and wonder how the bookstores as that kind of space might be also in conversation with music festivals. I am thinking about this in relationship to La Shonda Mims’ new book and her thinking about lesbian in pride. It seems like the Community Interaction Space is more applicable to lesbian organizing than the pride rubric.
- 00:46:22 Gail Chester: Could you put the ref to your article in the chat?
- 00:47:17 Samantha Rayner: Liddle, Kathy. “Distribution Matters: Feminist Bookstores as Cultural Interaction Spaces.” Cultural sociology 13.1 (2019): 57–75
- 00:47:30 Eben J Muse: Reacted to “Liddle, Kathy. “Dist…” with 👍
- 00:49:03 Andrew Wertheimer: Thanks Kathy. Readers might also enjoy Junko Onosaka’s dissertation on Feminist Bookstores and FBN.
- 00:49:49 Julie R. Enszer: https://uncpress.org/book/9781469670553/drastic-dykes-and-accidental-activists/
- 00:50:50 Julie R. Enszer: Book by La Shonda Mims
- 00:50:58 D-M Withers: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1057/s41305-018-0138-3 ‘Neither Pure Love nor Imitating Capitalism’: Euro WILD and the Invention of Women’s Music Distribution in Europe, 1980–1982
- 00:51:25 Julie R. Enszer: https://www.dukeupress.edu/the-feminist-bookstore-movement
- 00:51:35 Julie R. Enszer: That is Kristen Hogan’s book – The Feminist Bookstore Movement
- 00:51:41 Eleanor Shevlin: Thanks so much, Kathy— fascinating work!
- 01:12:28 Andrew Wertheimer: Yes, LBGTQIA+ books are the most common category of books challenged in US libraries and is the basis of many Republicans presidential campaign, as you know. As you probably know, US Customs had a role in the attempted censorship of Ginsberg’s HOWL, but City Lights was victorious in overturning obscenity. This was in 1955, and ironically his book was printed in England. Of course there were many other lesbigay titles that were banned by customs, but this was a landmark.
- 01:16:46 Louise O’Hare: ❤️
- 01:18:39 Andrew Wertheimer: Thanks
- 01:20:09 Kristen Doyle Highland: I love your expansion of “ways of reading” to include these forms of legal/restrictive reading – it’s an important aspect for students to consider alongside the ‘traditional’ ways of reading we teach. Thank you.
- 01:20:27 Andrew Wertheimer: Reacted to “I love your expansio…” with ❤️
- 01:25:05 Eleanor Shevlin: I second Kristen—and oc course reading law is a textual and interpretive practice.
- 01:25:15 D-M Withers: Reacted to “I second Kristen—and…” with 👍
- 01:26:10 Andrew Wertheimer: It would be great to see if you can do the equivalent of a FOI request to gather that story about who ordered the raid or search Thatcher’s papers…
- 01:26:46 Andrew Wertheimer: YES!
- 01:27:40 Andrew Wertheimer: Maybe the closest Tory MP for that constituency might be another person to investigate…
- 01:28:13 Sarah Pyke: Great suggestions, Andrew, thank you!
- 01:28:27 Andrew Wertheimer: Reacted to “Great suggestions, A…” with 👍
- 01:28:51 Malcolm Noble (he/him): Two wonderful papers, thank you! I wonder if the thread which connects these two papers is about ambiguity: so much queer and radical material sneaks under the radar because it is ambiguous – if this material isn’t for you, then often you will not be able to read it. It seems that the feminist bookstores likewise occupied a deliberately ambiguous position between market and anticapitalism
- 01:31:11 Andrew Wertheimer: Feminist bookstores were somewhat normalized in ALT PRESS weeklies in the US from the graphic novel/ comix Dykes to Watch Out For, which took place in a feminist book cooperative. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dykes_to_Watch_Out_For)
- 01:31:59 Eben J Muse: Reacted to “Two wonderful papers…” with 👍
- 01:32:49 Andrew Wertheimer: (normalized wrong word… but entered non queer discussions). (Sorry I’m not eloquent or camera on, but it is only 5am here now)
- 01:32:56 Emil Lawrence (he/him): Agree with Kristen and Eleanor way up above re: legal/restrictive reading. Thinking there might be another related point of comparison in Emily Knox’s work on the “common sense” interpretive strategies of book challengers in the US
- 01:33:16 Andrew Wertheimer: Reacted to “Agree with Kristen a…” with ❤️
- 01:33:24 Sarah Pyke: Reacted to “Agree with Kristen a…” with ❤️
- 01:33:33 Julie R. Enszer: So fantastic! Really enjoyed them both!
- 01:33:40 andrewthacker: Two fascinating papers, thanks!
- 01:33:43 Andrew Wertheimer: Mahalo (thank you)!
- 01:33:45 Kristen Doyle Highland: Reacted to “Agree with Kristen a…” with ❤️
- 01:33:47 Emil Lawrence (he/him): This was wonderful! Thank you!
- 01:34:00 Eleanor Shevlin: Reacted to “Agree with Kristen a…” with ❤️
- 01:34:25 Kristen Doyle Highland: Reacted to “I second Kristen—and…” with 👍
- 01:34:32 Eleanor Shevlin: Yes, I echo Emil and highly recommend Emily Knox’s work.
- 01:34:44 Andrew Wertheimer: Reacted to “Yes, I echo Emil and…” with ❤️
- 01:34:54 Eleanor Shevlin: Thank you both—wonderful!
- 01:34:54 Andrew Wertheimer: (Customs?) 🙂
- 01:34:56 Samantha Rayner: https://research.reading.ac.uk/centre-for-book-cultures-and-publishing/cfp-bookshops-online-and-on-the-high-street-deadline-01-march-2023/
- 01:37:17 Eben J Muse: https://www.cambridge.org/core/elements/spaces-of-bookselling/A3537F542F3E02AED9887C89BE06E00D#
- 01:37:26 Matthew Chambers: Reacted to “Screenshot 2023-02-24 at 151622.png” with 👍
- 01:37:40 Sarah Pyke: Reacted to “Screenshot 2023-02-24 at 151622.png” with 🎉
- 01:38:21 Sarah Pyke: Can’t wait to read this, looks amazing!
- 01:38:25 Kristen Doyle Highland: HA! Glad my camera is off
- 01:38:32 Eben J Muse: Reacted to “HA! Glad my camera i…” with 😂
- 01:38:53 Kristen Doyle Highland: Thanks to Sam and Eben for editorial efforts and support!!!
- 01:39:46 Andrew Wertheimer: Thanks for all you are doing Sam & Eden!
- 01:40:00 Andrew Wertheimer: EBEN (Sorry autocorrect)
- 01:40:10 Margaretta Jolly: Thank you so much for great talks!
- 01:40:11 Gail Chester: will the recordings be available?
- 01:40:15 Kristen Doyle Highland: Thank you, Kathy and Sarah!!!
- 01:40:15 Lawrence Jones: Thank you for two excellent talks!
- 01:40:15 Eleanor Shevlin: Thank you all!
- 01:40:16 D-M Withers: Thank you all!
- 01:40:18 HM: thank you all — interesting intersections w/ library history.
- 01:40:25 andrewthacker: Thanks again!
