P.S. burn this letter please : the fabulous and fraught birth of modern drag, in the queens' own words
Olsen, Craig2024
Books, Manuscripts
In the 1950s, as now, queer people were attracted to the Big Apple because they were able to find work as drag performers and female impersonators in a small number of Lower East Side clubs. Decades before Stonewall, they occupied the margins of society, determined to live as they pleased, despite of the attentions of the police. Sometimes reduced to stealing to get their costumes, these girls were unstoppable, fearless and fabulous. When a cache of their letters were discovered, these individuals were given a voice where they had traditionally been silenced. The letters they wrote bear witness to a time when gay community was hard to find. Blending social, political and cultural history with memoir, this book is an unforgettable and deeply moving encounter with a generation of incredible survivors and a necessary account of how modern drag culture was born.
London : Sphere, 2024.London : Sphere, 2024.
224 pages ; 20 cm
9780751585919 (pbk)
792.7
English
Drag queens -- New York (State) -- New York -- Social conditions -- 20th centuryDrag queens -- New York (State) -- New York -- Social life and customs -- 20th centuryGay community -- New York (State) -- New York -- History -- 20th centuryNew York (N.Y.) -- History -- 1951-Performing ArtsLGBTQ+ InterestNew YorkLater 20th century c 1950 to c 1999DanceGay & Lesbian studies
2903831