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Title details for Tinderbox by Robert W. Fieseler - Available

Tinderbox

The Untold Story of the Up Stairs Lounge Fire and the Rise of Gay Liberation

by Robert W. Fieseler
Paul Heitsch
Audiobook
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Buried for decades, the Up Stairs Lounge tragedy has only recently emerged as a catalyzing event of the gay liberation movement. In revelatory detail, Robert W. Fieseler chronicles the tragic event that claimed the lives of thirty-one men and one woman on June 24, 1973, at a New Orleans bar, the largest mass murder of gays until 2016. Relying on unprecedented access to survivors and archives, Fieseler creates an indelible portrait of a closeted, blue-collar gay world that flourished before an arsonist ignited an inferno that destroyed an entire community. The aftermath was no less traumatic-families ashamed to claim loved ones, the Catholic Church refusing proper burial rights, the city impervious to the survivors' needs-revealing a world of toxic prejudice that thrived well past Stonewall. Yet the impassioned activism that followed proved essential to the emergence of a fledgling gay movement. Tinderbox restores honor to a forgotten generation of civil-rights martyrs.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Awards

  • Release date

    June 5, 2018

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781684413096
      • File size: 328962 KB
      • Duration: 11:25:20

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      With minimal emotional inflection, Paul Heitsch narrates this account of the fire that led to the rise of the gay liberation movement. On June 24, 1973, 31 men and one woman perished in an arson fire at The Up Stairs Lounge, a New Orleans bar. It was the worst attack against gays until 2016. Time and again, descriptions of the dead, dying, and burned are juxtaposed with news accounts of the events. At a time when many gays were closeted, the fire affected families and lovers alike. Heitsch tenderly and tirelessly brings the horrendous fire and the sometimes callous attitudes toward gays to life, imbuing his narration with great sensitivity. His performance raises awareness of this turning point in contemporary gay history. Note: Descriptions of the fire, trapped patrons, and survivors' burns are graphic. M.B.K. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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