So, I promised that I was done posting about queer Ottawa history but I can't pass up the opportunity to pass this along. I just stumbled across Grant Burke's blog on Ottawa Queer history. I didn't know he had one or it would have been on here ages ago! Grant is a masters student at Carleton University and actually helped me in the initial stages of my work on Queer Ottawa. I've only glanced at his blog but it looks as if he's got some fascinating stuff on it...including some of the pictures that I'm always complaining about losing! I won't summarize his work because I simply don't know enough about it and wouldn't want to misrepresent what he's doing, but do give his blog a visit learn about his ongoing research. Best of luck to him on his research.
I've heard he was recently interviewed by CBC Radio, but I wasn't able to find the link. However, he was interviewed by Xtra! newspaper on his work
I want to draw attention to two pictures that he's posted...
 |
| This is the same scene as a picture I posted from the Ottawa Citizen in an earlier post. A much better picture than mine! |
 |
| I've posted before about what I call the 'historical gaze', that being the attempt to picture and formulate past scenes and actions in a particular historical place when one is in that space. For me, this picture is the epitome of my queer Ottawa 'historical gaze'. It's taken across the street from the Lord Elgin Hotel (Elgin St. between Laurier and Slater streets) and appears in a GO Info issue from the 1970's. The two men are standing near the place where the memorial to Aboriginal veterans now stands. I cannot walk by that spot without picturing this scene and attaching to it my own historical imagination. Every time I walk by that spot my 'historical gaze' recreates the scene and all that it represents for the Gay Liberation era. |
For reference, here are my previous posts on queer Ottawa history 1, 2, 3, 4.
Jordan Kerr
http://randomunistudent.blogspot.com/
