With the recent polar vortex, even the heartiest winter types have been hunkering down, eschewing outdoor activities for the warmth of home and hearth. Some curl up with a good book, perhaps the current selection of one of Milwaukee’s LGBTQ book clubs.
Carl Szatmary, the city’s exclusive purveyor of LGBTQ literature as the owner of Outwords Books, has been hosting community bibliophiles since 1994. Initially founded in that year as a monthly literary gathering for all LGBTQs, The Outwords Book Group has since evolved into separate clubs for lesbian, gay male and, more recently, bisexual+ readers. To expand the literary landscape, Szatmary often invites local writers like lesbian fiction writer and Lambda Literary Award finalist C. P. Rowlands or mystery author David Pederson to present their works to both club members and the general public. The longevity of these groups reflects Outwords Books’ tenacious staying power in these days of cyberization of our daily lives, LGBTQ or otherwise.
In fact, last year (its 25th Silver Anniversary), Outwords garnered recognition in Logo’s online news column “new now next” on its list of eight of the world’s only remaining LGBTQ bookstores, ranking #4 alongside shops in New York City, London, Berlin, Paris, Toronto, Philadelphia and Barcelona. Conspicuously absent was gay mecca, San Francisco. Its last bookstore, A Different Light, closed in 2011. Philadelphia’s historic Giovanni’s Room only managed a reprieve after closing in 2014 when it reopened as part of Philly AIDS Thrift.
While it is certainly a mark of progress to have a dedicated gay literature aisle in a big box bookstore or instant accessibility with a click through online sales outlets, Outwords’ attraction is its environment. The old school storefront space offers an organic cultural destination for LGBTQs that provides a certain sense of familial comfort, a respite from the impersonal cyber world, or, speaking of frigidity, the cavernous cold of a chain bookstore.
Besides, it’s also the home of Milwaukee’s oldest LGBTQ book clubs. The Men’s Book Group (recently joined by the GAMMA BookWorms) meets on the second Monday (next date: Feb. 11) while the Lesbian Reading Group convenes on the second Tuesday (next date: Feb. 12). The upcoming Bi+ Pride Book Club meeting takes place on Wednesday, Feb. 20.
Meanwhile, the Milwaukee LGBT Community Center launches its own book club on Feb. 12. In collaboration with Boswell Book Co., it hosts the inaugural LGBTQ+ Book Talk! at the Center with owner Daniel Goldin presenting recent titles from LGBTQ authors. It should also be noted that the Center is home to the Jack H. Smith Lending Library. One of the largest libraries of LGBTQ books in Wisconsin, this rare repository’s shelves hold more than 3,000 volumes covering the full spectrum of relevant fiction and non-fiction literature ranging from romance, art and spirituality to sociology, history and health. Titles are searchable online through the Center’s website. Over the years its collection has enjoyed a continual influx of new books donated through the generosity of Joe Pabst and the Center’s librarian, Katie Obbink.
Information on Outwords Books’ current reading club selections may be found at outwordsbooks.com. Details about the LGBT Community Center’s LGBTQ+ Book Talk! are available on its Facebook page.
