Este sitio utiliza cookies para ofrecer nuestros servicios, mejorar el rendimiento, análisis y (si no estás registrado) publicidad. Al usar LibraryThing reconoces que has leído y comprendido nuestros términos de servicio y política de privacidad. El uso del sitio y de los servicios está sujeto a estas políticas y términos.
On June 24, 1973, a fire in a New Orleans gay bar killed 32 people. This still stands as the deadliest fire in the city's history. Though arson was suspected, and though the police identified a likely culprit, no arrest was ever made. Additionally, government and religious leaders who normally would have provided moral leadership at a time of crisis were either silent or were openly disdainful of the dead, most of whom were gay men. Based upon review of hundreds of primary and secondary sources, including contemporary news accounts, interviews with former patrons of the lounge, and the extensive documentary trail left behind by the criminal investigations, The Up Stairs Lounge Arson tells the story of who used to go to this bar, what happened on the day of the fire, what course the investigations took, why an arrest was never made, and what the lasting effects of the fire have been.… (más)
This concise, well-written, and meticulously researched volume focuses on a little-known but significant event in the queer history of the US.
Delery-Edwards carefully reconstructs the narrative of the fire that consumed the Up Stairs Lounge, a small but popular gay bar in New Orleans in the early 1970s. He tells the story of the owners, employees, and patrons who frequented the bar and succeeds in humanizing a tragedy that was in danger of becoming an historical footnote.
Furthermore, Delery-Edwards examines the facts with fresh eyes and questions the surviving records of the arson. Although the case remains officially unsolved, Delery-Edwards makes a strong argument for the guilt of the most likely suspect. Perhaps most importantly, he situates this awful tragedy within the cultural and political context of its time, offering astute and persuasive analysis of the local response to the fire and the seeming official indifference to the massive loss of life. He even manages to find some hope in the aftermath of the fire, showing how it served to galvanize the LGBTQ community in New Orleans.
This book should find a place on the reading list of anyone interested in the queer history of America. ( )
Información procedente del conocimiento común inglés.Edita para encontrar en tu idioma.
The 1973 fire at the Up Stairs Lounge is the deadliest fire in the history of New Orleans. This is not an easy distinction to achieve. The city has had many notable fires in its nearly 300-year existence, including two in the eighteenth century that both came close to destroying the struggling young settlement. The Up Stairs fire was brief; firefighters extinguished the blaze only 16 minutes after getting the call. The damage was limited to a single building, which survived the fire and still exists. Even so, that quick blaze killed 29 people within minutes, and three more later died of their injuries. Arson was immediately suspected and, though a likely suspect was soon identified, there was never an arrest or a trial. -Preface
One of the earliest problems I encountered with respect to language was how to write the name of the lounge itself. In print sources, I have seen it written as Upstairs, UpStairs and Up Stairs. Phil Esteve, the owner of the lounge, is now dead, and Buddy Rasmussen, his bartender and manager, is no longer willing to speak about the fire. Several news photographs from 1972 show the canopy over the entrance, and on the canopy the name is clearly written as two separate capitalized words: Up Stairs. -A Note on Language
Things would have been much different if there had been a balcony. -Chapter I: Beer, Prayer and Nellydrama, The Story of the Up Stairs Lounge
On June 24, 1973, a fire in a New Orleans gay bar killed 32 people. This still stands as the deadliest fire in the city's history. Though arson was suspected, and though the police identified a likely culprit, no arrest was ever made. Additionally, government and religious leaders who normally would have provided moral leadership at a time of crisis were either silent or were openly disdainful of the dead, most of whom were gay men. Based upon review of hundreds of primary and secondary sources, including contemporary news accounts, interviews with former patrons of the lounge, and the extensive documentary trail left behind by the criminal investigations, The Up Stairs Lounge Arson tells the story of who used to go to this bar, what happened on the day of the fire, what course the investigations took, why an arrest was never made, and what the lasting effects of the fire have been.
Google Books — Cargando...
(4.83)
1
Delery-Edwards carefully reconstructs the narrative of the fire that consumed the Up Stairs Lounge, a small but popular gay bar in New Orleans in the early 1970s. He tells the story of the owners, employees, and patrons who frequented the bar and succeeds in humanizing a tragedy that was in danger of becoming an historical footnote.
Furthermore, Delery-Edwards examines the facts with fresh eyes and questions the surviving records of the arson. Although the case remains officially unsolved, Delery-Edwards makes a strong argument for the guilt of the most likely suspect. Perhaps most importantly, he situates this awful tragedy within the cultural and political context of its time, offering astute and persuasive analysis of the local response to the fire and the seeming official indifference to the massive loss of life. He even manages to find some hope in the aftermath of the fire, showing how it served to galvanize the LGBTQ community in New Orleans.
This book should find a place on the reading list of anyone interested in the queer history of America. (