Gay’s The Word: the story behd England’s only LGBTQ bookshop | Huck

Contents:

•  GAY'S THE WORD 
• GAY’S THE WORD: SI ENGLAND’S ONLY LGBTQ BOOKSHOP
• GAY’S THE WORD – LONDON’S INIC QUEER BOOKSTORE CONTU TO THRIVE
• GAY'S THE WORD

 GAY'S THE WORD 

Fictn, Nonfictn, Young Adult Fictn, Classics, Poetry, Plays, Rare Books, Comg Out, pl Gay's The Word and LGSM merchandise. Gay's The WordWant an alternative to Amazon? Four s on — This week marks the 40th anniversary of Gay’s The Word, a UK stutn that fought police raids, prejudice and censorship to bee a hub of social activism.

Thursday 17 January, 2019Text by Patrick O’ConnellPhotography by Patrick O’Connell / Gay’s The WordUnassumgly sandwiched between a phone repair shop and a fé, Gay’s The Word has stood steadfastly on Bloomsbury’s Marchmont Street for 40 UK’s first LGBTQ bookshop has managed to outlive all s fellows – cludg Edburgh’s Wt and Wil, Brighton’s Out, and Charg Cross Road’s Silver Moon – which have all fallen victim to the enomic prsur pennt bs so often face.

As a rult, Gay’s The Word is one of only two extant queer bookshops the untry. The uncil were reluctant to let the space to a gay tablishment – part due to an assumptn was a prank, given Ernt’s surname.

GAY’S THE WORD: SI ENGLAND’S ONLY LGBTQ BOOKSHOP

“They said would be a porn bookshop bee that’s what gay bookshops were those days, ” says manager Jim MacSweeney, who has worked there sce 1989.

“Our very first ads said: ‘London’s ser gay book shop is now open. ’”Over the years, Gay’s The Word has bee a val muny rource. “It threw up lots of notns around inty, of what meant to be gay, ” remembers MacSweeney.

GAY’S THE WORD – LONDON’S INIC QUEER BOOKSTORE CONTU TO THRIVE

Early Pri mte were anised om s fé, while gay socialist group Icebreakers and the Gay Black Group – the first of s kd the UK – were formed after meetg the shop. ) In 1984, Gay’s The Word also beme home to Lbians and Gays Support the Mers (LGSM), a socialist fundraisg group assistg the mers’ strike efforts. In 1984, HM Ctoms and Excise raid Gay’s The Word, seizg s imported stock unr the pretext that obscene works were beg sold, and brgg crimal charg agast the staff and directors.

But unlike obsceny laws, which grant publishers fence exceptns for artistic mer, ctoms seizur were an arbrary and unpredictable t-and-moe game entrenched homophobia. ”Books seized clud works by Christopher Isherwood and Gore Vidal, who donated to the fence fund, as well as The Joy of Gay Sex and The Joy of Lbian Sex – their heterosexual equivalent remaed eely available the UK. What uld have been a landmark tt se cmbled before ever ma to the Old Bailey: and after two years, charg agast Gay’s The Word were dropped.

This story is largely unknown to a new generatn of fans, who may be aware of Gay’s The Word through s starrg role Pri. ”Four s the makg, Gay’s The Word has bee a cherished stutn. Gay’s The Word is an LGBTQ bookstore London – you’ll fd was Gay’s The Word tablished?

GAY'S THE WORD

Inspired by the emergence and growth of lbian and gay bookstor the Uned Stat, a small group of people om Gay Icebreakers – a gay socialist group – found Gay’s The Word the shop was found 1979, gay books were not generally available mastream bookstor – you had to source them om specialist publishers via mail-orr, generally om the were the men behd Gay's The Word? Origally om Harrow, jt outsi of London, Peter Dorey and Ernt Hole were the origal founrs and owners of Gay’s The 2019, Peter and Ernt both attend the store’s 40th anniversary celebratns – held at the Brish died at the age of 73, after an extend perd of was Gay’s The Word raid by the police?

In 1984, Ctoms and Excise thori – assumg the shop to be a porn store – mounted a large-sle raid of Gay’s The Word. The shop’s owners were charged wh nspiracy to import cent books unr the Ctoms Consolidatn Act a public mpaign, the charg were eventually dropped ’s the future for Gay’s The Word? While the store’s origal owners have moved on, Gay’s The Word ntu to play a val role wh the LGBTQ muny London and beyond.