June is here, which means LGBT Pride Parades are taking to the streets of major cities, including ours: the Seattle Pride Parade and Seattle Pride Fest take place on the weekend of June 23-24! Names like Ellen, Harvey, Elton, Dan, and Wanda will float about, rekindling our knowledge of famous gays and lesbians throughout our rich history who have been out. However: did you know that Piotr Tchaikovsky, Dusty Springfield, Lorraine Hansberry, and Alan Turing identified as gay, lesbian, and bisexual? It’s true!
Come visit the Arts, Recreation, and Literature section on level 8 of the Central Library to learn about the spectrum of LGBT celebrities who were out and proud, known to be gay, and those who struggled with themselves and the limitations of the times they lived in. Movies, books, and even music CDs and feature films will be available for check out for you to (re)acquaint yourself with the LGBT experience.
At the Business, Science, and Technology section on level 7, we will display a history of the LGBT civil rights movement, and resources for individuals and their loved ones that offer information on navigating the process of coming out. We’ll even have materials on starting a family and caring for LGBT family members as they age.
Celebrate Pride with the Library this month! Also, celebrate a milestone with us and the country, as even the President has declared June to be LGBT Pride Month in the U.S.
A small sample of materials to pique your interest includes:
• Fabulous! A Loving, Luscious, and Lighthearted Look at Film from the Gay Perspective. Donald F. Reuter’s semi-encyclopedic book gives synopses, light criticism, and the social implications of classic to modern films such as “Sunset Boulevard,” “Babe,” and even “Risky Business.”
• Adoption by Lesbians and Gay Men: A New Dimension in Family Diversity. As acceptance of the LGBT community in the U.S. rises, so does LGBT parenting. Editors Adam Pertman and David Brodzinsky give LGBT parents-to-be tips, history, and recommendations for starting a new family.
• M*A*S*H, Season 6. This season marks the arrival of out and proud actor David Ogden Stiers, who plays Maj. Charles Emerson Winchester III.
• Tegan & Sara: Sainthood. Known lesbian twins Tegan and Sara’s follow up album to “The Con” has tracks that “count as power-pop, but tightly wound as they are, they’re closer to high-strung 1980s new wave (think: Missing Persons).” (Klein, 2009)
• David Sedaris’ Live at Carnegie Hall. Sedaris’s live performance, captured as an audiobook, will make you laugh yourself off the road…or off the plane, if you’re not careful!
~Amy A., Central Library
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