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.

Editor Tommi Avicolli Mecca is a local San Franciscan and a frequent contributor to the San Francisco Bay Guardian, San Francisco Bay Times, and Beyond Chron, all of which we will pursue for features/reviews. Mecca is also the author and performer of a one-man show, "Italian.Queer.Dangerous," which debuted in San Francisco in 2005. His local notoriety is sure to draw interest from Bay Area publications, and will likely draw crowds at regional events. Radio: Pursuing NPR/American Public Radio's "Fresh Air," "Weekend America," "The Story," "All Things Considered," and "Fair Game." Also pursuing "This Way Out," an internationally distributed weekly GLBT radio program, produced in Los Angeles and distributed via the Public Radio Satellite System. TV: Local SF Morning Shows Print: New York Times, SF Chronicle, Boston Globe, Washington Post, Bay Area Reporter, San Francisco Bay Times, The Advocate, Out Magazine, Bitch Magazine, Details, Utne Reader, Mother Jones, Dissent, The Nation, Atlantic Monthly, New Yorker, SF Weekly, SF Bay Guardian, Village Voice, Time Out New York, Gay and Lesbian Review Web: BeyondChron, INTHEFRAY, Huffington Post Academic marketing: This book has the potential to be adopted for academic coursework in queer studies, political activism, American history, and American Studies courses.

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.

Reviews

"Smash the Church, Smash the State! offers an intoxicating glimpse into that time before 'pride' replaced liberation, when 'gay' was still a fiery threat to the violence of the status quo, and revolution was right around the corner from the corner store. Full of brash, contradictory, intoxicating dreams, the essays in this anthology invoke the sexual flamboyance, intellectual rigor, activist troublemaking and communal possibilities of a different era while simultaneously offering bracing critiques."-Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore, author of So Many Ways to Sleep Badly and editor of That's Revolting! Queer Strategies for Resisting Assimilation

"The personal is riotously political and the history is tangibly personal in these diverse, down-to-earth reflections on the early days of Gay Liberation, that heady era of Stonewall, getting stoned, and lobbing metaphorical (and actual) stones at our oppressors. Avicolli Mecca has woven a colorful tapestry of first-person accounts that is reflective and emotional, joyous and poignant-and ever defiant."-Richard Labonte, Book Marks, Q Syndicate

"This book vividly recreates the thrilling and euphoric moments of gay liberation in the wake of Stonewall, with the added wisdom and grace of 40 years of hindsight." -Jeffrey Escoffier, author of American Homo: Community and Perversity and editor of Sexual Revolution

"A proud testimony to the brave people who stood up to be counted for our right to love and live any way we pleased. Their spirit and struggle will resonate forever, inspiring, I hope, many others." -Carla Trujillo, editor of Chicana Lesbians: The Girls Our Mothers Warned Us About and author of What Night Brings

Awards
Commended for Lambda Literary Awards (Anthologies) 2009.



Book Information
ISBN 9780872864979
Author Tommi Avicolli Mecca
Format Paperback
Page Count 256
Imprint City Lights Books
Publisher City Lights Books
Weight(grams) 431g
Dimensions(mm) 203mm * 146mm * 17mm