Just in time for the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, I’ll be joining writers from Bennington College’s MFA program (my alma mater) for an evening of short readings at the storied KGB Bar.
Join me at the Grand Central branch of the New York Public Library for a reading from When Brooklyn Was Queer. For information on how to RSVP, click here.
Hugh Ryan’s When Brooklyn Was Queer is a groundbreaking exploration of the LGBT history of Brooklyn, from the early days of Walt Whitman in the 1850s up through the queer women who worked at the Brooklyn Navy Yard during World War II, and beyond. Ryan will discuss in new light the fundamental questions of what history is, who tells it, and how we can only make sense of ourselves through its retelling; and shows how the formation of the Brooklyn we know today is inextricably linked to the stories of the incredible people who created its diverse neighborhoods and cultures.
Hugh Ryan's writing has appeared in the New York Times, Tin House, Buzzfeed, the Los Angeles Review of Books, Out, and other venues. He earned an MFA from the Bennington Writing Seminars, and he received a 2016-2017 Martin Duberman Fellowship at the New York Public Library, a 2017 New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship in Nonfiction Literature, and a 2018 residency at the Watermill Center.
Join me and the Brooklyn Community Pride Center for a walking tour of queer Brooklyn history! Time TBD. More information to come.
Join me for a reading and conversation about When Brooklyn Was Queer at the ONE Archives in LA - the largest LGBTQ collection in the world. TIME STILL TO BE DETERMINED
Hugh Ryan & Jenn Baker
Greenlight is proud to host Hugh Ryan to present his groundbreaking new book When Brooklyn Was Queer, an exploration of the LGBT history of Brooklyn from the early days of Walt Whitman in the 1850s up through the queer women who worked at the Brooklyn Navy Yard during World War II, and beyond. No other book, movie, or exhibition has ever told this sweeping story; not only has Brooklyn always lived in the shadow of queer Manhattan neighborhoods like Greenwich Village and Harlem, but there has also been a systematic erasure of its queer history—a great forgetting. Ryan unearths that history for the first time in intimate, evocative, moving prose, showing how the formation of the Brooklyn we know today is inextricably linked to the stories of the incredible people who created its diverse neighborhoods and cultures. Through them, When Brooklyn Was Queer brings Brooklyn’s queer past to life, and claims its place as a modern classic. Ryan presents his book in conversation with writer and editor Jennifer Baker.
Tuesday, April 16, 2019 - 7:30pm
686 Fulton street
Brooklyn, NY 11217
Join me for an intimate conversation and reading from When Brooklyn Was Queer at Brooklyn’s own Community Pride Center!
When Brooklyn Was Queer is the never-before-told story of Brooklyn’s vibrant and forgotten queer history, from the mid-1850s up to the present day.
This is a groundbreaking exploration of the LGBT history of Brooklyn, from the early days of Walt Whitman in the 1850s up through the queer women who worked at the Brooklyn Navy Yard during World War II, and beyond. No other book, movie, or exhibition has ever told this sweeping story. Not only has Brooklyn always lived in the shadow of queer Manhattan neighborhoods like Greenwich Village and Harlem, but there has also been a systematic erasure of its queer history―a great forgetting.
In intimate, evocative, moving prose Ryan discusses the fundamental questions of what history is, who tells it, and how we can only make sense of ourselves through its retelling; and shows how the formation of the Brooklyn we know today is inextricably linked to the stories of the incredible people who created its diverse neighborhoods and cultures. Through them, When Brooklyn Was Queer brings Brooklyn’s queer past to life, and claims its place as a modern classic.
https://gaycenter.org/second-tuesday/hugh-ryan/
I’ll be reading from When Brooklyn Was Queer at the William Way Center in Philadelphia.
8pm
William Way Community Center
1315 Spruce St.
Philadelphia, PA - 19107
Join us for a discussion on the intersection of LGBTQ identity and creativity. Hugh Ryan, curator of the exhibition On the (Queer) Waterfront, and author of the new book When Brooklyn Was Queer, is joined by historian and CUNY professor, Daniel Hurewitz, author of Bohemian Los Angeles whose work focuses on the development of gendered and sexual identities, and Sherill Tippins, author of the book February House about the salon/house described by the queer platform, them, as “the Queer Commune in WWII Brooklyn that became a cultural epicenter.” Moderated by the senior managing producer of the Slate Podcast Network, June Thomas, founder of Outward, Slate’s LGBTQ section. How artists helped to inspire queer activism is just one of the many topics that will be explored!
Presented in connection with the new exhibition “On the (Queer) Waterfront.”
For questions about this event or other inquiries, contact our Visitor Services desk at 718-222-4111, ext. 250.
The Queer Creative Impulse: Artistic Expression and Gender Identity
Monday, April 1
Brooklyn Historical Society
Doors: 6:00 pm
Event: 6:30 pm
$5 General Admission / Free for Members
When Brooklyn Was Queer goes international! I’m incredibly honored to be part of Queer Fest Heidelberg this year.
Come here me read from some of my personal essays! I'll be joined by three other fantastic writers who also graduated from The Bennington Writing Seminars, Rebecca Chace, AW Barnes, and Aurvi Sharma.
Monday, March 28th @ 6pm
Cornelia Street Cafe
29 Cornelia St.
On May 19th, 2015, I was invited to present at the National Museum of Art in Stockholm, as part of a panel on mobile contemporary art institutions put on by Grafikens Hus.
Hugh Ryan is the founder of the Pop-up Museum of Queer History, and Matthew Leifheit is a photo editor at VICE magazine and founder of MATTE photography magazine.. They will present their fascinating study on one of our favorite and most significant artists: David Wojnarowicz. After he died, his friends found “Magic Box” under his bed. The “Magic Box” is a collection of unexplained objects, a private world that Mr. Wojnarowicz didn’t share, even with his friends. The box and its contents are currently in the holdings of NYU's Fales Library, but we’ll review them on April 14th.
As part of Rutgers University-Camden's "Telling Untold Histories" unconference, I was invited to present a workshop on the community-engaged, political art-historical practice of the Pop-Up Museum of Queer History.
Telling Untold Histories is the first unconference in the South Jersey/Philadelphia region that will help public historians and historical organizations incorporate these stories into their work. This unconference will explore the hows and whys of engaging subjects that challenge our audiences’ expectations and expand their thinking. By drawing a diverse group of public historians, scholars, students, and interested members of the general public together, this unconference will be an open forum to discuss the challenges and opportunities of doing difficult history, will give participants a chance to network with like-minded practitioners from across the region, and will teach professional skills through workshops. We hope that attendees will leave inspired and full of ideas.
When he died, David Wojnarowicz left behind a box of totemic objects, simply labeled "The Magic Box." What significance did they have for him? What can we learn about his art by viewing his artifacts? Is this a personal symbolic dictionary, an artwork never finished, or a completed work never meant for outside consumption? Join me as I present this fascinating object at Rutgers University - Newark.
Every year, the Swedish Exhibition Agency (Riksutställningar) gathers museum practitioners from around the world for a multi-day conference on exciting new fronts in exhibitions & museology. In 2014, I was invited to present on the Pop-Up Museum of Queer History, the questions of mobile programming, and the unique questions that come up in researching LGBTQ histories.
I will be a featured presenter at Intensivdagarna 2014, a museum conference in Visby, Sweden, lecturing on the history of the Pop-Up Museum and leading workshops for museum professionals interested in creating similar programs.
The oped section is often one of the easiest places for new writers to break into a publication, because it relies on personal experience and opinion. Newspapers, websites, and magazines often look for oped pieces from non-staffers that relate to the current events of the day, or evergreen pieces pinned to holidays, changing seasons, yearly events, etc.. In this workshop, we'll talk about what makes a good topic for an oped, how to write one, and how to sell one.
Nearly a decade ago, Hugh Ryan needed to make a career choice between artist or writer. Wisely he chose writing.
