Items related to Cherry Grove, Fire Island: Sixty Years in America's...
Synopsis
Recounts the history of Cherry Grove, from the 1930s to the present, including interviews with residents who describe the struggles, the partying, and the perseverance. By the author of Mother Camp: Female Impersonators in America.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
About the Author
Esther Newton is associate professor of anthropology at State University of New York, Purchase.
Reviews
After spending five summers in Cherry Grove, lesbian anthropologist Newton ( Mother Camp ) has written a soundly researched cultural history of this unique homosexual summer retreat in N.Y. where, as a demographic majority, gays "achieved American ideals of independence and citizenship." Based on interviews with 46 former and current residents, the author chronicles the colony's development from an isolated few cabins to a thriving, commercial, publicized community with Mafia-run discos and occasional police raids. The island's theater, drag balls, athletic and campy events entertain residents and visiting celebrities alike. However, the gay liberation movement of the '70s and '80s temporarily caused friction among owners, landlords and businesses; the era was marked by an influx of lesbian couples and hordes of day-trippers, many of them black or Hispanic. Although many aspects of gay culture have changed since the '80s, the Grove remains a place where gays and lesbians still go "to be part of something unique." Newton shows us why. Illustrations not seen by PW.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Cherry Grove, the oldest continuously inhabited resort on Fire Island, became a beacon toward which gays were drawn as well as "a ghetto into which they were pushed by the hatred and intolerance of straight society" beginning in the early 1930s. Relying on interviews with 46 former and current Grovers, lesbian anthropologist Newton, author of Mother Camp: Female Impersonators in America ( LJ 3/15/73) chronicles the affluent community, a "grand, fun, party" place, punctuated by conflicts between renters and owners, gays and straights, and tourists and Grovers and those drawn along lines of class, gender, and race. This fascinating narrative sets the gay experience in Cherry Grove against the broader context of the history of 20th-century American lesbian and gay life. For gay studies collections.
- James E. Van Buskirk, San Francisco P.L.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Other Popular Editions of the Same Title
Search results for Cherry Grove, Fire Island: Sixty Years in America's...
Stock Image
Cherry Grove, Fire Island: Sixty Years in America's First Gay and Lesbian Town
Seller: Jenson Books Inc, Logan, UT, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
hardcover. Condition: Acceptable. The item is showing use from the previous owner but works perfectly. Signs of previous ownership which could include: tears, scuffing, notes, excessive highlighting, gift inscriptions, slight water damage, a missing dust jacket, and library markings. Seller Inventory # 4BQGBJ014KT9
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
Cherry Grove, Fire Island: Sixty Years in America's First Gay and Lesbian Town
Seller: WorldofBooks, Goring-By-Sea, WS, United Kingdom
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardback. Condition: Fine. Seller Inventory # GOR014020326
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
Cherry Grove, Fire Island: Sixty Years in America's First Gay and Lesbian Town
Seller: WorldofBooks, Goring-By-Sea, WS, United Kingdom
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardback. Condition: Very Good. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged. Seller Inventory # GOR006967469
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
Cherry Grove, Fire Island: Sixty Years in America's First Gay and Lesbian Town
Published by
Beacon Press, Boston, 1993
ISBN 10: 080707926X
ISBN 13: 9780807079263
Used
Soft cover
First Edition
Seller: Works on Paper, DeKalb, IL, U.S.A.
Seller rating 4 out of 5 stars
Soft cover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. A very good copy of the first hard cover edition, first printing (full number line) in a like (not price-clipped) dust-jacket. The text is wholly unmarked, pristine, and the binding and jacket are bright and fresh in appearance. A sharp copy. Seller Inventory # 022333
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
CHERRY GROVE, FIRE ISLAND, SIXTY YEARS IN AMERICA'S FIRST GAY AND LESBIAN TOWN
Seller: Melanie Nelson Books, Livingston, NY, NY, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Blue cloth spine and purple covers, book is 9 1/4" tall. 378 pages, with section of photos, all b/w, none are sexual---FINE NEW CONDITION- - dust jacket same. Seller Inventory # 054555
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
Cherry Grove, Fire Island: Sixty Years in America's First Gay and Lesbian Town
Published by
Beacon Press, Boston, 1993
ISBN 10: 080707926X
ISBN 13: 9780807079263
Used
Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: Abacus Bookshop, Pittsford, NY, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
hardcover. Illus. with photos (illustrator). 1st. 8vo, 378 pp., Small spot on the edge of the last few pages, else fine. Nearly fine copy in fine dust jacket. Seller Inventory # 119507
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
Cherry Grove, Fire Island: Sixty Years in America's First Gay and Lesbian Town
Seller: Midtown Scholar Bookstore, Harrisburg, PA, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
hardcover. Condition: Good. Torn/worn dj. Good hardcover with some shelfwear; may have previous owner's name inside. Standard-sized. Seller Inventory # mon0000271592
Quantity: 1 available
Seller Image
Cherry Grove, Fire Island: Sixty Years in America's First Gay and Lesbian Town
Published by
Beacon Press, Boston, 1993
ISBN 10: 080707926X
ISBN 13: 9780807079263
Used
Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: Between the Covers-Rare Books, Inc. ABAA, Gloucester City, NJ, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine. First edition. Tall octavo. xiii, 378pp. Illustrated from black and white photographs. Blue cloth spine, purple papercovered boards. Fine in a near fine dust jacket with moderate rubbing and scratch marks on the rear panel. Seller Inventory # 536439
Quantity: 1 available
Seller Image
Cherry Grove, Fire Island: Sixty Years in America's First Gay and Lesbian Town
Published by
Beacon Press, Boston, 1993
ISBN 10: 080707926X
ISBN 13: 9780807079263
Used
Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: BIBLIOPE by Calvello Books, Oakland, CA, U.S.A.
Seller rating 3 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine. Quarto in black jacket illus in purples and pinks; xiii, 378 pages: illustrations, map; 24 cm; bibliographical references (pages 353-367) and index. "For thousands of gay men and lesbians in America, Cherry Grove - the oldest continuously inhabited resort on Fire Island - has meant freedom. Not simply the leisure-time freedoms from work and noise and pollution, but the far rarer freedom to socialize in public without risking a beating, to stroll arm in arm without hesitation, to leave the curtains open without fear - in short, to live the American dream that was denied to gay men and lesbians on the U.S. mainland. In her rich and detailed cultural history of Cherry Grove, Esther Newton tells for the first time the full story of this unique community, the oldest gay and lesbian town in America. Covering the years from the 1930s to the present day, Newton has captured the lives of "oldtimers" the people who created Cherry Grove's gay life decades ago, as well as the lives of relative newcomers. Interviewing nearly a hundred people, Newton shares with us the words of the men and women who have built the houses, tended the businesses, preserved the land, and conserved the rich identity of the Grove. The resort's first gay residents were deeply involved in the arts, and the early chapters of the book recall the lasting impact of the many Grovers on the world of New York theater, magazines, and nightclubs. In addition, Newton recounts the Grove's land battles, community disputes, and interpersonal rivalries as well as episodes of violence, police harassment, exploitation by the media, and hatred from straights. Grovers survive, Newton finds, by relying on their own brand of camp culture - a blend of theatricality, partying, and cross-dressing that is at the heart of the community's distinctive and autonomous gay sensibility. Vivid recollections of the Grove's outrageous parties and productions, especially the well-known "Invasion" of the neighboring Pines resort, are woven together with the residents' recognition of the toil that encroaching old age and the onslaught of AIDS is taking on Grove's life. Sustained throughout by the author's personal observations and reflections, Cherry Grove, Fire Island illuminates both the history of America's first gay and lesbian community as well as the significant role of gay men and lesbians in twentieth-century American history."-Publisher. // Lesbians -- New York (State) -- Cherry Grove -- History. Gay men -- New York (State) -- Cherry Grove -- History. Gays -- New York (State) -- Fire Island (Island) -- History. Gay community -- New York (State) -- Fire Island (Island) -- History. Lesbian community -- New York (State) -- Fire Island (Island) -- History. Gay community. Gay men. Gays. Lesbian community. Lesbians. Lesbe Geschichte Homosexueller Homoseksuelen. New York (State) Fire Island -- History. Near fine with minor edge wear and slight soiling, in near fine jacket now housed in archival mylar sleeve. First edition, first printing (full number line). Seller Inventory # 92964
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
Cherry Grove, Fire Island: Sixty Years in America's First Gay and Lesbian Town
Seller: Toscana Books, AUSTIN, TX, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: new. Excellent Condition.Excels in customer satisfaction, prompt replies, and quality checks. Seller Inventory # Scanned080707926X
Quantity: 1 available