Tag Archives: Gay history

Happy Saint Nicholas Day!

Posted on December 6, 2023 by Kevin Allen | 1 comment

{The Calgary Gay History Project is on hiatus until the New Year. Look for new queer history content in 2024!}

December 6th is Saint Nicholas Day, when Santa comes to visit (in some countries).

Kevin as a moderately jolly St. Nick—sans beard!

If you know someone who has been good all year and deserves a present, check out our two award-winning books from our in-house imprint, ASPublishing.

Our Past Matters: Stories of Gay Calgary hit #1 on the Calgary Herald bestseller list in 2019 and has been popular ever since. John Ibbitson, from The Globe and Mail, explains: “You are going to read about some amazing people, places, and times in these pages… There is no one better equipped than Kevin Allen to give us a tour.”

What Narcissus Saw is Gordon Sombrowski’s second book of fiction exploring life in Fernie, BC. It was selected from hundreds of contenders as a finalist in the Whistler Independent Book Awards last October. The awards jury wrote: “Sombrowski’s linked short stories immediately draw in the reader. He deftly breathes life and intrigue into his settings and characters with language to be savoured.”

Books are available in Calgary at Shelf Life Books and Pages.

You can also purchase books and have them shipped from our online store for $24.99 + $6.99 shipping (in Canada).

Happy holidays!

{KA}

1 Comment

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged bisexual, Calgary, Christmas, gay, Gay history, history, lesbian, Our Past Matters, Pages on Kensington, queer, Saint Nicholas, saints, santa, Shelf Life, sinterklaas, st-nicholas, transgender, What Narcissus Saw, Xmas

Queer History Nov. 22 @ Memorial Park

Posted on November 16, 2023 by Kevin Allen | 2 comments

We’re excited to share new findings from the Calgary Gay History Project. Reserve your free spot next Wednesday, 6 PM, at the Memorial Park Library here. If you come, you might also win a special edition hard copy of Our Past Matters!

As a sneak peek for next week’s presentation, we were sent a collection of Calgary photos, circa 1980, from Glenn Crawford, who does queer history in Ottawa/Gatineau with the Village Legacy Project. The photos were taken by Capital Xtra! photographer and journalist Philip Hannan, who passed away earlier this year.

*The historic Backlot bar circa 1980. Photo: Philip Hannan, courtesy of the Hannan family and the Village History Project*.

Does the neon sign in this photo look familiar? As the contemporary Backlot bar faces an eviction and the hunt for a new location, it might be comforting to know it has moved before!

{KA}

2 Comments

Posted in Gay history

Tagged bisexual, Calgary, gay, Gay history, Glenn Crawford, lesbian, Philip Hannan, queer, transgender, Village Legacy Project

Our Past Matters—Five Years Later

Posted on November 8, 2023 by Kevin Allen | 1 comment

Kevin Allen launched his book Our Past Matters: Stories of Gay Calgary as the first historian in residence at the Central Library on November 22, 2018. Five years on, Kevin returns to the library to share stories of queer history he learned after the book was published. This special event, celebrating the book’s success, is happening at the Memorial Park Library on November 22, 2023, from 6-7 PM. Tickets are free (but limited); register here.

*Kevin Allen in 2023: photo Kelly Hofer*

Discover new stories of AIDS activists, enterprising community choirs, and the surprising queer history of the Memorial Park Library. Learn how infamous Calgary bus driver Everett Klippert, who spent most of the 1960s in jail for being gay, retroactively had his criminal charges reversed.

Queer history is more important than ever as we face contemporary challenges to our human rights victories. Kevin’s rallying cry is our past matters!

Bonus: A limited edition hard-cover copy of Our Past Matters will be given away as a door prize!