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Second Tuesday presents: Glitter and Concrete: A Cultural History of Drag in New York City
April 9 @ 6:30 pm - 9:00 pm
The Center is proud to present a lecture and conversation with Elyssa Goodman, the author of Glitter and Concrete: A Cultural History of Drag in New York City.
About Glitter and Concrete
From journalist and drag historian Elyssa Maxx Goodman, an intimate, evocative history of drag in New York City exploring its dynamic role, from the Jazz Age to Drag Race, in queer liberation and urban life
From the lush feather boas that adorned early female impersonators to the sequined lip syncs of barroom queens to the drag kings that have us laughing in stitches, drag has played a vital role in the creative life of New York City. But the evolution of drag in the city—as an art form, a community and a mode of liberation—has never before been fully chronicled.
Now, for the first time, Elyssa Goodman unearths the dramatic, provocative untold story of drag in New York City in all its glistening glory. Glitter and Concrete ducks beneath the velvet ropes of Harlem Renaissance balls, examines drag’s crucial role in the Stonewall Uprising, traces drag's influence on disco and punk rock as well as its unifying power during the AIDS crisis and 9/11, and culminates with the modern-day drag queen in the era of RuPaul’s Drag Race.
Including original interviews with high-profile performers, as well as glamorous color photos from exclusive sources and the author herself, Glitter and Concrete is a significant contribution to queer history and an essential read for anyone curious about the story that echoes beneath the heels.
About Elyssa Maxx Goodman
Elyssa Goodman is a New York-based writer and photographer specializing in non-fiction writing and documentary photography. Her first book, Glitter and Concrete: A Cultural History of Drag in New York City, is out now from Hanover Square Press. She is represented by Melissa Danaczko at Stuart Krichevsky Agency. Her writing and photography have been published in Vogue, Vanity Fair, T: The New York Times Style Magazine, The New Yorker, them., InsideHook, Artforum, Elle, VICE, New York, i-D, and many others. She is also the host and curator of the Miss Manhattan Non-Fiction Reading Series.