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sg94's review against another edition
informative
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
Oh, I loved this so much! The editors are excellent, the selection of interviewees is wide and varied which is greatly appreciated because books like these rarely cover much more than (usually white) cis gay men and one lesbian thrown into the mix. I love oral history and folklore of all kinds, and this is an excellent example of how to respectfully collect and frame it. The context for everything is given so it can easily be read even if you know very little about the community, and the interviewees are endlessly quotable and have a lot to share. All of it felt incredibly close and personal.
voidboi's review against another edition
4.0
I had hoped for more focus on queer oral history practices, as research for a relevant project. Instead, most of the book seemed to be concerned with analyzing the transcripts and experiences presented for their historical and cultural meanings, or with discussing oral history more broadly.
But while it wasn't quite what I was looking for, I did really enjoy reading this book and getting a glimpse at so many different stories. The book presents an incredibly in-depth look at what queer oral history can look like, and reflections on key issues of narrator/interviewer dynamics, talking about sex, comfort and discomfort, community, and more. Definitely a worthwhile read.
But while it wasn't quite what I was looking for, I did really enjoy reading this book and getting a glimpse at so many different stories. The book presents an incredibly in-depth look at what queer oral history can look like, and reflections on key issues of narrator/interviewer dynamics, talking about sex, comfort and discomfort, community, and more. Definitely a worthwhile read.
jsjammersmith's review against another edition
5.0
An oral history is ultimately a recording that says that somebody was here. That they existed and lived. LGBTQ history is something that is new and developing, and because the voices of the community were typically silenced or else snuffed out completely the oral record becomes something that isn't just important, it's vital. When there are still voices attempting to silence the Queer community, or else label us as something obscene or corrupt, the record that shows queer people as simply people trying to live and love the same as everybody else is a necessary record.
Bodies of Evidence is not just a collection of Interviews and companion essays, it's a collection that provides the Oral Historian ideas and concepts to consider as they approach the daunting task of recording the voices, memories, and stories of queer people who survived to tell their stories. The book constantly asks the reader to not just listen to the narrators (word for people being interviewed), but to consider how the interviewers might have affected the recording by their questions, actions, identities, and associations. It asks the reader to consider how the Oral recording is not just a list of events the narrator remembers, but their feelings of the events. It is a document that reminds the reader that as we read and listen to their stories, we grow too and that history is a constantly living discourse about what humanity is and how it changes.
This book is a must for any person considering beginning the task of Oral History, but it's also a beautiful addition to any Queer library because it offers another means of recording that beautiful statement, "We're Here, We're Queer," and it offers a new ending, "And we were here."
Bodies of Evidence is not just a collection of Interviews and companion essays, it's a collection that provides the Oral Historian ideas and concepts to consider as they approach the daunting task of recording the voices, memories, and stories of queer people who survived to tell their stories. The book constantly asks the reader to not just listen to the narrators (word for people being interviewed), but to consider how the interviewers might have affected the recording by their questions, actions, identities, and associations. It asks the reader to consider how the Oral recording is not just a list of events the narrator remembers, but their feelings of the events. It is a document that reminds the reader that as we read and listen to their stories, we grow too and that history is a constantly living discourse about what humanity is and how it changes.
This book is a must for any person considering beginning the task of Oral History, but it's also a beautiful addition to any Queer library because it offers another means of recording that beautiful statement, "We're Here, We're Queer," and it offers a new ending, "And we were here."
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