Members of the Queer Imaging & Riting Kollective for elders (Quirk-e) chronicle their journey from no rights to civil rights in this, their sixth anthology. It was edited by Claire Robson and Kelsey Blair and published in 2014. Historical context of queers in each of six decades is presented by El Chenier, Professor of History at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver.
From the Introduction by Claire Robson, PhD.
“Since history is the narrative of victors, each word in this anthology represents a small triumph. At the time the authors were born, such words could not have been written or barely imagined. We remember being damned by our churches, rejected by our friends and parents, fired from our jobs, and beaten on the streets. Whether or not these things happened to us as individuals, we lived in the shadow of their possibility, and though many of us are out and proud today, we still recall those times of fear and shame…. Some of us hid. Some of us stood out. Whatever we did and however we lived, we were part of a long queer journey – from no rights to civil rights.”
From the Preface by Wayson Choy, author of The Jade Peony
“Every brave voice deserves a hearing. If you have ever felt you have been targeted as ‘the other,’ ever felt abandoned, mocked for being different, here are individual voices that may connect with you…. This edition may intensely inspire you because what is collectively revealed remains human and vulnerable. In short, you are different, yes and you are not alone.”
Purchase e-book or paperback at The Bridge Generation: A Queer Elders’ Chronicle from No Rights to Civil Rights (lulu.com)
Review:
Willeen G. Keough, Chair of Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies, Simon Fraser University says:
“In poignant, personal short stories and graphic memoirs, the members of QUIRK-E share their experiences of negotiating sexuality in a heteronormative past and present, of coping with anxieties and frustrations, and of finding fulfillment in the exercise of choice. The QUIRK-E writers truly are a bridge generation, not only because they came of age when homosexuality was pathologized and have since witnessed the evolution of substantial LGBTQ rights, but also because they are creating honest conversations with each other, with a straight or questioning readership, and with younger generations of LGBTQ people who are in search of a queer past. These sometimes raw, but beautifully articulated stories form an extremely important part of LGBTQ cultural history, and the Department of Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies at Simon Fraser University is very excited to partner with the group in publishing their work.”
