Calgary Gay History

One year later #OurPastMatters

Posted on November 22, 2019 by Kevin Allen | 1 comment

Our Past Matters launched one year ago today at the Central Library. I wanted to take a moment to thank readers, history buffs, and Calgary Gay History Project supporters for their positive embrace.

Here are some highlights from the book’s year.

On November 22, 2018, hundreds of Calgarians attended the book launch and filled the Central Library’s Theatre with warmth and enthusiasm for queer history.

Book launch at the Calgary Central Library: Photo Noel Bégin

Our Past Matters stayed on the Calgary Herald’s non-fiction best seller’s list for months, eventually hitting #1 in February 2019.

From the Calgary Herald – February 2, 2019

The University of Calgary’s Joe Kadi selected Our Past Matters as a course textbook for his spring class: LGBTQ+ Social Change History: From Stonewall to Calgary. In June, we were invited to attend a lecture. It was a genuine honour to receive insightful questions and pertinent observations about the book from this group of engaged readers.

In September the Our Past Matters received national attention when the Calgary Gay History Project made the shortlist for the 2019 Governor General’s History Award for Excellence in Community Programming. (We just learned that we were not selected for the award, but remain grateful to have been given the nod).

GovernorGenerals-History-Award

So, it has been an absolutely lovely year. Upcoming plans for Our Past Matters include the imminent launch of the e-book edition and a book tour to a handful of Canadian cities in the New Year. (As a preview of touring, we just went to Fort Macleod’s inaugural Get Lit! festival last weekend and had such fun meeting local readers and pride organizers). Thank you again for believing in the Calgary Gay History Project and making Our Past Matters a “good read.”

StarMetro Cover Story by Madeline Smith – December 3, 2018

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Posted in Gay history

Tagged bisexual, Calgary Herald, Calgary StarMetro, gay, Gay history, Governor General, Joe Kadi, lesbian, New Central Library, Our Past Matters, queer, transgender, University of Calgary

YYCgayhistory Map Launch

Posted on November 14, 2019 by Kevin Allen | 2 comments

A few years ago, Dr. Jim Ellis, Director of the Calgary Institute for the Humanities (CIH), emailed the Calgary Gay History Project about an idea the Institute was musing: the Calgary Atlas Project. The CIH thought it would be illuminating to create a series of alternative maps exploring unknown layers of the city.

On Thursday, November 21st, the inaugural map in the Calgary Atlas Project launches – A Queer Map: A Guide to the LGBTQ+ History of Calgary: text by Kevin Allen and map art by Mark Clintberg. Join us at the recently renovated Contemporary Calgary (Planetarium), at 701 11 Street SW for artist talks and a reception from 6:30 – 8:00 PM. Tickets for this free event can be found: here.

Hot off the presses: A Queer Map from @HumanitiesYYC (Twitter)

At the reception, you will be able to pick up a copy of A Queer Map by donation to the CIH. Donations will support the new LGBTQ2S+ endowed lecture series (notably, the Institute brought in seminal historian George Chauncey, author of Gay New York this past August).

The CIH explains: “The Atlas Project seeks to recover crucial stories about Calgary’s past and present, stories that will illuminate in surprising ways the character of the city. Individual maps will document such phenomena as the early histories of Calgary’s Queer communities, the history of Indigenous involvement with the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth, the traces left by immigrant communities, and the lasting effects of the labour movement. The Atlas aims to bring a new vision of Calgary to Calgary; to show us how we got to where we are, and who we got to be.”

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Posted in Gay history

Tagged Atlas Project, bisexual, Calgary Institute for the Humanities, CIH, gay, Jim Ellis, lesbian, Mark Clintberg, queer, transgender

get lit soon!

Posted on November 7, 2019 by Kevin Allen | 1 comment

The Calgary Gay History Project is back. Our first event this month is the Get Lit! Festival in Fort Macleod on November 16th.

“The beautiful and historic Empress Theatre is starting what it hopes to be an annual event – the Get Lit! Festival: a literary evening celebrating reading, writing, and Canadian fiction and non-fiction. Five exciting writers will converge on Fort Macleod to read from their works, discuss their writing, and participate in panel discussions. And not just any old writers here. We’re talking medal winners, Banff Mountain Book Festival Grand Prize winners, CBC Canada Reads finalists, Alberta Literary Award finalists, and Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Award winners!”

Invited by literary maven and author, Angie Abdou, Kevin Allen will be reading from Our Past Matters Stories of Gay Calgary and participating in a panel discussion on advocacy through non-fiction writing. Joined by authors, Fran Kimmel, Ali Bryan, Sid Marty and hosted by CBC Daybreak Alberta’s Russell Bowers, Get Lit! is going to be “Wunderbar!”