When Brooklyn Was Queer, Hugh Ryan
When Brooklyn Was Queer, Hugh Ryan
1 Rating(s)
List: $19.95 | Sale: $13.97
Club: $9.97

When Brooklyn Was Queer

Author: Hugh Ryan

Narrator: Hugh Ryan

Unabridged: 11 hr 30 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 03/05/2019


Synopsis

The never-before-told story of Brooklyn’s vibrant and forgotten queer history, from the mid-1850s up to the present dayHugh Ryan’s When Brooklyn Was Queer is a groundbreaking exploration of the LGBT history of Brooklyn, from the early days of Walt Whitman in the 1850s up through the queer women who worked at the Brooklyn Navy Yard during World War II, and beyond. No other book, movie, or exhibition has ever told this sweeping story. Not only has Brooklyn always lived in the shadow of queer Manhattan neighborhoods like Greenwich Village and Harlem, but there has also been a systematic erasure of its queer history―a great forgetting.Ryan is here to unearth that history for the first time. In intimate, evocative, moving prose he discusses in new light the fundamental questions of what history is, who tells it, and how we can only make sense of ourselves through its retelling; and shows how the formation of the Brooklyn we know today is inextricably linked to the stories of the incredible people who created its diverse neighborhoods and cultures. Through them, When Brooklyn Was Queer brings Brooklyn’s queer past to life, and claims its place as a modern classic.

About Hugh Ryan

Hugh Ryan is the award-winning author of When Brooklyn Was Queer (2019) and The Women’s House of Detention (2022). He teaches creative nonfiction in the MFA program at the Bennington Writing Seminars and runs the Queer History 101 Book Club with world-famous performer Peppermint. He lives in Brooklyn.


Reviews

I didn't just enjoy this book, but I'll confess I was enraptured? No, that's too strong a word. Truth be told I never in my life paid attention to "Queer folk." If I knew someone who was gay before I hit the age of 30, then I didn't know. I never paid attention to that. It's not that I ignored it, I......more

Goodreads review by Misty

When Brooklyn Was Queer is a fascinating read in which the author delves deep into the history of same-sex relationships and gender identity. Whilst this is in itself is not a unique undertaking, author Hugh Ryan goes a step further, tying threads of the past to a central location—Brooklyn, New York......more

Goodreads review by Morgan

"But nothing lasts forever, even silence." Hugh Ryan's spectacular book, When Brooklyn Was Queer, conjures the lipstick traces of queer history out of the cobblestone streets, wooden slats of Coney Island boardwalk, and the brothels, bars, and bohemias of the "second city of the Empire." Though toda......more


Quotes

“This boisterous history captures the variety and creativity of the sexual outsiders who congregated around the economic hub of the Brooklyn Navy Yard.” New York Times

“A funny, tender, and disturbing history of LGBT life… uncovering what life was like for ‘ordinary’ queer folk.” The Guardian (London)

“[A] boisterous, motley new history…an entertaining and insightful chronicle…enhanced by original research in newspaper archives, unpublished letters, and collections of ephemera.” New York Times Book Review

“The archival discoveries that Ryan has made evoke a world of affection and pleasure.” New Republic

“Illustrates Brooklyn’s culture of gender and sexual fluidity from the 1850s onward, a story often erased in favor of highlighting other historically queer New York City neighborhoods like Greenwich Village and Harlem.” Los Angeles Review of Books

“Traces the borough’s vibrant, forgotten queer history…restoring its rightful place in the saga of Brooklyn.” Bay Area Reporter

“A journey through the queer history of Brooklyn, full of vaudeville and poetry.” Jezebel.com

“An exquisite, strange, and beautiful book.” Out.com

“Employing a dynamic combination of meticulous research and impassioned prose, Ryan… offers a richly evocative chronicle filled with notable queer game-changers…a romantic, exquisite history of gay culture.” Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“A lively, character-filled portrait and well-researched analysis…[that] offers a valuable broadening of historical perspective.” Publishers Weekly


Awards

  • Amazon.com Bestseller
  • Literary Hub Pick
  • New York Times Pick
  • Los Angeles Review of Books Pick
  • Voice Arts Award
  • Randy Shilts Award
  • New York City Book Award