The Oscar Wilde Bookshop was a bookstore located in New York City's Greenwich Village neighborhood that focused on LGBTQ works. It was founded by Craig Rodwell on November 24, 1967, as the Oscar Wilde Memorial Bookshop. Initially located at 291 Mercer Street,[1][2][3][4] it moved in 1973 to 15 Christopher Street, opposite Gay Street.[5]
The bookstore closed on March 29, 2009, citing the Great Recession and challenges from online bookstores.[6]
In 2006, the bookshop received the Michele Karlsberg Leadership Award from the Publishing Triangle.[7]
History
As a member and vice president of the Mattachine Society, Rodwell sought to make Mattachine more visible to gays and society at large by opening a storefront to cater to the growing local gay community in Greenwich Village, saying:
Inspiration
Rodwell was brought up as a member of the Christian Science church. The roots of Rodwell's belief in "gay liberation" arose from his daily readings of Christian Science literature which stressed the dignity of every human being regardless of sexual identity.
Using the Christian Science example of community outreach and stressing the availability of literature that contained positive images of gays and lesbians, Rodwell modeled the Oscar Wilde Memorial Bookshop after Christian Science Reading Rooms.[23]
References
- 1 2 Howard Smith's Scenes column, Village Voice, March 21, 1968, Vol. XIII, No. 23 (March 21, 1968 – republished April 19, 2010) Retrieved June 16, 2010.
- ↑ Craig Rodwell Papers, 1940-1993, New York Public Library (1999). Retrieved on July 25, 2011.
- ↑ Tobin, pg. 65
- ↑ Marotta, pg. 65
- ↑ "Last Minute Oscar Wilde Reprieve" Gay City News. January 31 – February 6, 2003. Vol. 2 – Issue 5. Retrieved January 3, 2011.
- ↑ "Venerable Gay Bookstore Will Close" The New York Times. February 3, 2009. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
- ↑ "The Michele Karlsberg Leadership Award". The Publishing Triangle. Retrieved 2024-05-22.
- ↑ Tobin/Wicker, pg. 69-70
- 1 2 Downs, pg. 65
- ↑ Gambale, Ganine; Tippins, Emilie (2015). "New York". In Stewart, Chuck (ed.). Proud Heritage: People, Issues, and Documents of the LGBT Experience. Volume 1. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO. p. 1103. ISBN 9781610693981.
- 1 2 Downs, Jim (June 27, 2019). "Before Stonewall, There Was a Bookstore". The Atlantic. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
- ↑ Duberman, pg. 164–166
- ↑ Pobo, Kenneth. Journalism and Publishing Archived 2008-09-28 at the Wayback Machine, GLBTQ Encyclopedia Archived 2005-03-17 at the Wayback Machine (October 13, 2007). Retrieved on September 23, 2008.
- ↑ Tobin/Wicker, Gay Crusaders pg. 65
- ↑ Downs, pg. 69
- ↑ Sargeant, Fred. "1970: A First-Person Account of the First Gay Pride March." The Village Voice. June 22, 2010. Retrieved January 3, 2011.
- ↑ Craig L. Rodwell, 52, Pioneer for Gay Rights New York Times obituaries (June 20, 1993). Retrieved July 25, 2011.
- ↑ Santor, Marc "Hard Words for a Bookshop: The End." New York Times. January 7, 2003. Retrieved January 3, 2011.
- ↑ Santora, Marc "Plot Twist for a Gay Bookstore: The Last Chapter Actually Isn't" New York Times February 4, 2003 Retrieved January 3, 2011.
- ↑ Neff, Lisa. The importance of being open: Oscar Wilde Bookshop purchased by Deacon Maccubbin of Lambda Rising, The Advocate (March 18, 2003). Retrieved on May 6, 2010.
- ↑ Fred Sargeant. "He Wrote The Book." Liberation Publications/The Advocate. April 1, 2003. Retrieved on May 6, 2010.
- ↑ Chan, Sewell. "Venerable Gay Bookstore Will Close." New York Times. February 3, 2009.
- ↑ Marotta, p. 66
Bibliography
- Downs, Jim, Stand By Me: The Forgotten History of Gay Liberation (Basic, 2016)
- Duberman, Martin, Stonewall (New York: Dutton, 1993) ISBN 0-452-27206-8
- Marotta, Toby, The Politics of Homosexuality (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1981) ISBN 0-395-31338-4
- Sargeant, Fred (2009) Anger Management, New York Times Op-Ed, June 25, 2009 Retrieved January 3, 2011
