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Secret Historian
Secret Historian: The Life and Times of Samuel Steward, Professor, Tattoo Artist, and Sexual Renegade | Justin Spring
4 posts | 3 read | 16 to read
Drawn from the secret, never-before-seen diaries, journals, and sexual records of the novelist, poet, and university professor Samuel M. Steward, Secret Historian is a sensational reconstruction of one of the more extraordinary hidden lives of the twentieth century. An intimate friend of Gertrude Stein, Alice B. Toklas, and Thornton Wilder, Steward maintained a secret sex life from childhood on, and documented these experiences in brilliantly vivid (and often very funny) detail.After leaving the world of academe to become Phil Sparrow, a tattoo artist on Chicago's notorious South State Street, Steward worked closely with Alfred Kinsey on his landmark sex research. During the early 1960s, Steward changed his name and identity once again, this time to write exceptionally literate, upbeat pro-homosexual pornography under the name of Phil Andros.Until today he has been known only as Phil Sparrow—but an extraordinary archive of his papers, lost since his death in 1993, has provided Justin Spring with the material for an exceptionally compassionate and brilliantly illuminating life-and-times biography. More than merely the story of one remarkable man, Secret Historian is a moving portrait of homosexual life long before Stonewall and gay liberation.Secret Historian is a 2010 National Book Award Finalist for Nonfiction.
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RealBooks4ever
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A chronicle of the life of Samuel Steward aka Phil Sparrow aka Phil Andros, using his secret writings about his gay life before Stonewall. #LGBTQPride #Riotgrams

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daviewheeler
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Pickpick

God Made Me Gay, Books Made Me Queer: How JR Ackerley, Justin Spring, Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore, Kate Bornstein, and so many others helped me find my Pride.

http://www.thestranger.com/features/2016/06/22/24238529/queer-issue-god-made-me-...

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SeeJaneRead
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Pickpick

I'm sorry, how can you not read a book subtitled "Professor, tattoo artist, and sexual renegade"? That's like the perfect dinner party in ONE DUDE. Steward's life is fascinating: how often do gay pulp fiction & Catholic universities intersect? Um...wait....?. Read ??this ??bio??!

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outofprint
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Thanks Gael, Nalani and the rest of our friends at Books & Books. One of our favorite stores with a wall full of excellent staff picks. When you're in Miami, make sure to check out one of their locations. Your "to read" stack will thank you.

joe_hill One of my favorite bookstores in the country. A cathedral. 9y
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