Smash the Church, Smash the State Reading at Books Inc. Castro July 24, 2009

Author, Tommi Avicolli Mecca and Contributors, will be visiting us to read from their latest anthology, "Smash the Church, Smash the State: The Early Years of Gay Liberation."

This anthology by former members of the Gay Liberation Front (GLF) captures the history and spirit of the revolutionary time just after Stonewall, when thousands came out of the closet to claim their sexuality, and when queer resistance coalesced into a turbulent, joyous liberation movement--one whose lasting influence would ultimately inform and profoundly shape the LGBT community of today.

Personal essays explore the philosophy and culture of the stridently anti-assimilationist GLF: the actions, demonstrations, and marches; views on marriage, religion, and gender; the drugs, orgies, and communes; and GLF's relationship to the hippies, the Black Panthers, the straight Left, the women's movement, civil rights, and the antiwar struggle.

The collection includes contributions from Martha Shelley, Cei Bell, Paola Bacchetta, Susan Stryker, Tom Ammiano, Nikos Diaman, Mark Segal, Barbara Ruth, and Perry Brass.

About the Author: Tommi Avicolli Mecca is a former member of Gay Liberation Front who has never stopped being an activist for queer and social justice causes. His writings have appeared in various anthologies over the years, most recently, "That's Revolting" (Soft Skull) and he is a contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, SF Examiner, and SF Bay Guardian, among other newspapers.
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Books Inc. is a locally owned and operated independent bookseller with 10 locations in California. Books Inc.'s origin dates back to the Gold Rush Days of 1851 when Anton Roman struck it rich in Shasta City, California and set himself up in business selling books. That small bookstore was moved, bought, sold, burned, rebuilt, renamed and became Books Inc., as we know it today, in 1946.

Today, with 10 Stores and 200 employees, Books Inc. serves as a shining example that independent bookselling can survive and prosper, even if we must dance among the elephants.

This Event is Free at Books Inc. 2275 Market St., San Francisco 94114
For Questions: Amadeus Martin, Event Coordinator - 415.864.6777
amartin@booksinc.net ; on the web at http://www.booksinc.net and
http://www.myspace.com/booksinccastro