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Our Happy Hours, LGBT Voices From the Gay Bars
During the days and nights following the massacre at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida, the world listened as various spokespersons attempted to explain to the general public exactly what the gay bar/club meant to LGBTQI people. The words “safe place,” “refuge,” “free to be ourselves” flew through the air.
We queer writers grappled with the tragedy alongside our brothers and sisters. How could we express our feelings about the places where we could drop all pretense of conforming to the hetero-normative society’s rules? What words could we gather to let the rest of the world know the pain we felt upon losing so many beautiful strangers on a night in June and in a place that had been one of our havens?
How and why does the gay bar intersect so many of our lives?
The stories and poems living between the covers of this book attempt to answer those questions. Spend a few happy hours with us in our gay bars.
**All profits will be donated to LGBTQI Youth Organizations**
We queer writers grappled with the tragedy alongside our brothers and sisters. How could we express our feelings about the places where we could drop all pretense of conforming to the hetero-normative society’s rules? What words could we gather to let the rest of the world know the pain we felt upon losing so many beautiful strangers on a night in June and in a place that had been one of our havens?
How and why does the gay bar intersect so many of our lives?
The stories and poems living between the covers of this book attempt to answer those questions. Spend a few happy hours with us in our gay bars.
**All profits will be donated to LGBTQI Youth Organizations**
- GenresNonfictionLGBT
261 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 28, 2017
4 people are currently reading
112 people want to read
About the author
S. Renée Bess
6 books12 followersRenee Bess is a former high school teacher who has been writing for many years. After her story "At the Beauty Parlor" won first place in a short fiction writing contest, she began exploring the possibility of creating longer pieces of fiction. The result of her exploration was "Leave of Absence," published in 2005 by Borders Personal Publishing/Xlibris. Buoyed by the success of that first book, Renee wrote three others, "Breaking Jaie," "RE:Building Sasha," and "The Butterfly Moments," all published by Regal Crest Enterprises. Renee enjoys creating characters who lead her to stories about African American lesbians, their families and their communities. Her novels are filled with rich language and memorable imagery. They mix intrigue with romance while they explore complex human relationships. Although one of Renee's goals was to create literature
for an underserved audience, her books have cross-over appeal and they attract a wide variety of readers. Currently, Renee is working on a fifth novel.
for an underserved audience, her books have cross-over appeal and they attract a wide variety of readers. Currently, Renee is working on a fifth novel.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 27, 2018
Vanda July 14, 2018
Review: Happy Hours: LGBT Voices from the Gay Bars
Story collectors: S. Renee Bess and Lee Lynch
Our Happy Hours: LGBT Voices from the Gay Bars was born out the of tragedy of the Pulse Night Club Massacre in Orlando, Florida. The story collectors, S. Renée Bess and Lee Lynch, were moved, enraged, frightened, emboldened with all the possible opposing emotions such an event can arouse. Memories of what the gay bar has meant throughout LGBT history and the part it played in bringing us together as a culture were reawakened and they knew that our bar stories had to be told. So, they sent out the call. This book is the result.
When I first sat down with the intention of reviewing this book, I made a plan of how to go about it. It’s an anthology so I couldn’t speak of character development or author voice or even theme and there were too many pieces to discuss them all in one review. I decided the best way to approach this task was to read each piece and put a check mark on the first page of the ones I found truly wonderful. These would be the ones I would single out to talk about. As I approached the end of my task I looked back over my work and realized I had checked every piece. My method was definitely not working.
The short stories, memoirs and poems in this volume are all exceptional. Not a clinker in the bunch. The editors or the cooler term ‘story collectors’ as they prefer to be called did a fantastic job and there is something in this book for everyone. Some writers remember the bars in the sixties; others remember them in the late 1990s or even the early 2000s. There are lesbians, gay men, Drag Queens, Drag Kings, Transgendered folks; there are brown people, white people (although no one can truly be said to be white.) and immigrants. There’s even one piece that delves into magical realism.
This collection is filled with joy, sadness, nostalgia and longing. Some pieces are funny; others are sad. And some are both. Many wonder authors what we’ve gained and lost with the new freedoms of today. And more than one reflects and mourns about the violence at Pulse.
I was reading Happy Hours while I was rolling a ball back and forth with my left foot. Physical therapy. The young African American intern who was helping me, noticed the colorful cover and asked about the book. I explained that is was an anthology of LGBT stories and gave some examples. He took a picture of the cover, so he could purchase the book later. He told me he commuted by train to his job in the city and he thought having a book of short pieces was a great idea. Now, he could actually finish a piece or two without having to stop in the middle when he arrived at his destination.
Review: Happy Hours: LGBT Voices from the Gay Bars
Story collectors: S. Renee Bess and Lee Lynch
Our Happy Hours: LGBT Voices from the Gay Bars was born out the of tragedy of the Pulse Night Club Massacre in Orlando, Florida. The story collectors, S. Renée Bess and Lee Lynch, were moved, enraged, frightened, emboldened with all the possible opposing emotions such an event can arouse. Memories of what the gay bar has meant throughout LGBT history and the part it played in bringing us together as a culture were reawakened and they knew that our bar stories had to be told. So, they sent out the call. This book is the result.
When I first sat down with the intention of reviewing this book, I made a plan of how to go about it. It’s an anthology so I couldn’t speak of character development or author voice or even theme and there were too many pieces to discuss them all in one review. I decided the best way to approach this task was to read each piece and put a check mark on the first page of the ones I found truly wonderful. These would be the ones I would single out to talk about. As I approached the end of my task I looked back over my work and realized I had checked every piece. My method was definitely not working.
The short stories, memoirs and poems in this volume are all exceptional. Not a clinker in the bunch. The editors or the cooler term ‘story collectors’ as they prefer to be called did a fantastic job and there is something in this book for everyone. Some writers remember the bars in the sixties; others remember them in the late 1990s or even the early 2000s. There are lesbians, gay men, Drag Queens, Drag Kings, Transgendered folks; there are brown people, white people (although no one can truly be said to be white.) and immigrants. There’s even one piece that delves into magical realism.
This collection is filled with joy, sadness, nostalgia and longing. Some pieces are funny; others are sad. And some are both. Many wonder authors what we’ve gained and lost with the new freedoms of today. And more than one reflects and mourns about the violence at Pulse.
I was reading Happy Hours while I was rolling a ball back and forth with my left foot. Physical therapy. The young African American intern who was helping me, noticed the colorful cover and asked about the book. I explained that is was an anthology of LGBT stories and gave some examples. He took a picture of the cover, so he could purchase the book later. He told me he commuted by train to his job in the city and he thought having a book of short pieces was a great idea. Now, he could actually finish a piece or two without having to stop in the middle when he arrived at his destination.
August 27, 2020
13. A collection of short stories: Our Happy Hours, LGBT Voices from the Gay Bars Collected by S. Renee Bess and Lee Lynch
List Progress: 20/30
This book has been sitting on my shelf for a long time, after I received it as part of a blind giveaway at an independent bookstore in Oakland, which feels very fitting. Our Happy Hours, LGBT Voices from the Gay Bars is obviously about bars, but often makes references to bookstores, community halls, clubs and online forums, all places that queer people gather with each other to form communities. Our Happy Hours was compiled in 2017, in direct response to the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting. Through fiction, non-fiction and poetry, writers process their feelings about the massacre itself, about their relationship with gay bars in general, and about their communities. Collected by S. Renee Bess and Lee Lynch, who both have stories included, the anthology strives to paint a picture of what these social institutions mean to people, for better or for worse. And on the whole, this collection does a good job.
Multi-author anthologies are always hit-or-miss and your enjoyment of them is largely dependent on how you respond to each individual writer’s style, which is a big gamble to take. While Our Happy Hours didn’t always knock it out of the park, the success percentage was definitely higher than many collections I’ve read, and I don’t recall many true low points. The fact that Bess and Lynch’s respective stories were among my favorites makes me think that having good writers at the head of the project definitely helped the collection as a whole. These are my top recommendations
“Omar Mateen’s Shirtless Pics Make Me Sad” by Clay Kerrigan
“On the Sidewalk in Front of Kellers” by Richard Natale
“Black and White Strobe Lights” by Rebekah Weatherspoon
“A Night Beyond the City Limits” by Renee Bess
“At a Bar in the Morning” by Lee Lynch
“Chances” by Shelley Thrasher
“Sharon’s Lookout” by Anne Laughlin
“All I Never Said” by Patrick Coulton
“The Pulse” by Michael Ward
These particular stories stood out for being rich, evocative, and different. Because the downside of this anthology is that a lot of the stories are quite same-y. Despite being called “LGBT Voices”, the stories are majority lesbian with occasional gay male stories, and most of them are unambiguously positive. The stories that really jumped out to me were ones that addressed issues of racism, ableism and substance abuse within bar culture; being queer does not make something perfect. These nuanced takes avoided looking at the community with rose-tinted glasses, though still with a great deal of love.
I have never been someone with a regular place at gay bars, though I have very fond memories of Divas in Northampton, MA and The White Horse in Oakland, CA. These stories were written in the immediate aftermath of the Pulse shooting, and I am reading them during the Covid-19 pandemic, which is bound to change the face of bar culture for many years to come. But even in the face of trauma and disease in pain, there will always be a queer community out there for people to find a home. And I am glad that Our Happy Hours was able to record some of those moments in time.
Would I Recommend It: Yes.
List Progress: 20/30
This book has been sitting on my shelf for a long time, after I received it as part of a blind giveaway at an independent bookstore in Oakland, which feels very fitting. Our Happy Hours, LGBT Voices from the Gay Bars is obviously about bars, but often makes references to bookstores, community halls, clubs and online forums, all places that queer people gather with each other to form communities. Our Happy Hours was compiled in 2017, in direct response to the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting. Through fiction, non-fiction and poetry, writers process their feelings about the massacre itself, about their relationship with gay bars in general, and about their communities. Collected by S. Renee Bess and Lee Lynch, who both have stories included, the anthology strives to paint a picture of what these social institutions mean to people, for better or for worse. And on the whole, this collection does a good job.
Multi-author anthologies are always hit-or-miss and your enjoyment of them is largely dependent on how you respond to each individual writer’s style, which is a big gamble to take. While Our Happy Hours didn’t always knock it out of the park, the success percentage was definitely higher than many collections I’ve read, and I don’t recall many true low points. The fact that Bess and Lynch’s respective stories were among my favorites makes me think that having good writers at the head of the project definitely helped the collection as a whole. These are my top recommendations
“Omar Mateen’s Shirtless Pics Make Me Sad” by Clay Kerrigan
“On the Sidewalk in Front of Kellers” by Richard Natale
“Black and White Strobe Lights” by Rebekah Weatherspoon
“A Night Beyond the City Limits” by Renee Bess
“At a Bar in the Morning” by Lee Lynch
“Chances” by Shelley Thrasher
“Sharon’s Lookout” by Anne Laughlin
“All I Never Said” by Patrick Coulton
“The Pulse” by Michael Ward
These particular stories stood out for being rich, evocative, and different. Because the downside of this anthology is that a lot of the stories are quite same-y. Despite being called “LGBT Voices”, the stories are majority lesbian with occasional gay male stories, and most of them are unambiguously positive. The stories that really jumped out to me were ones that addressed issues of racism, ableism and substance abuse within bar culture; being queer does not make something perfect. These nuanced takes avoided looking at the community with rose-tinted glasses, though still with a great deal of love.
I have never been someone with a regular place at gay bars, though I have very fond memories of Divas in Northampton, MA and The White Horse in Oakland, CA. These stories were written in the immediate aftermath of the Pulse shooting, and I am reading them during the Covid-19 pandemic, which is bound to change the face of bar culture for many years to come. But even in the face of trauma and disease in pain, there will always be a queer community out there for people to find a home. And I am glad that Our Happy Hours was able to record some of those moments in time.
Would I Recommend It: Yes.
August 10, 2018
Really enjoyed this book. Sad that most of these place no longer exist. Great walk down memory lane.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews