Gay Bar: Why We Went Out

Gay Bar is a beautifully written and insightful account of gay life, tracing the history of queer spaces from London to San Francisco and exploring their significance and potential loss.

Format: Paperback / softback
Publication date: 13 January 2022
Publisher: Granta Books

A brilliantly written and incisive account of gay life, Colm Tóibín's Gay Bar is a definitive book about the iconic institution. From the propulsive music and euphoric crowds to the drag queens and go-go dancers, strobe lights, dark rooms, and glory holes, gay bars have long been sites of joy, solidarity, sexual expression, and activism. However, around the world, they are closing, a phenomenon that Atherton Lin explores in his captivating book. Drawing from his experiences of clubs, pubs, and dives in London, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, as well as a transatlantic romance that began late one restless night, Lin traces queer histories and the evolution of these spaces. Gay Bar is an expansive and vivacious celebration of an institution, but it is also a stylish, intimate exploration of what these spaces mean, how they are changing, and what we stand to lose when they close their doors.

Essential reading for anyone interested in queer culture, history, and the importance of safe spaces, Gay Bar is a testament to the power of community and the resilience of the human spirit. It is a reminder that even in the face of adversity, we can find joy, love, and belonging in the most unexpected places.

Weight: 228g
Dimension: 128 x 196 x 26 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781783785834