Evening Crowd at Kirmser's: A Gay Life in the 1940s

by Ricardo J. Brown

Book Overview

A surprising and vivid remembrance of gay life in the wake of World War II It is often difficult to imagine gay gathering places in the decades before the Stonewall riots of the 1960s, and nearly impossible to think of such communities outside the nation's largest cities. Yet such places did exist, and their histories tell amazing stories of survival and the struggle for acceptance and self-respect. Kirmser's was such a place. In the 1940s, this bar...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0816636214
• ISBN13: 9780816636211
• Release Date: August 2001
• Publisher: University of Minnesota Press
• Length: 176 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.4" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Gay life in the past

I found this book to be absolutely delightful. Given the time, place and circumstances, I think Mr. Brown made the best of his situation and had a nice life. His experiences were ordinary but told so vividly I had a good idea of everyone and everything mentioned. To me he spoke not with disappointment and sadness but I think he maintained a sense of pride in himself and has fairly good memories of his young gay life in Minnesota that I am so glad he shared with us. Even though the book is short and rather expensive, don't miss out on reading this. If only Mr. Brown had lived to hear our comments and know his writing was published. I read a lot of biographies and this was one book where the person seemed well adjusted, not unhappy with themselves and made the best of life.

Gay Life After WWII...............

I am often leery of memoirs published by University presses as they tend to be filled with stoic facts, are often boring, display little emotion, and reveal very little of the real person being showcased. This book is certainly an exception in every way, as it reads like a novel, and is filled with fascinating, intimate details of Ricardo's life. Ricardo J. Brown's memoir offers us an exciting look into gay life of the late 1940's. Brown was discharged from the navy for being a homosexual, and returned to his working-class life in St. Paul, Minnesota. Most of this memoir centers around a bar called Kirmser's that catered to working class men during the day, and at night became a hang-out or underground club for gay men. It's Brown's own personal observations, feelings, and experiences he shares with us of the friends he made during these nightly visits to Kirmser's that are so enlightening, fascinating and fun to read. Some of the stories are sad and tragic, too. It's the honestly in the telling of these stories that will captivate you. A few personal photos have been included in this memoir. If you want a glimpse into what gay life was life in the time before Stonewall, then this book is an excellent choice. It's a small book that's filled with the life of a time most of us know little about, but would like to know more about. Gay life in the 1940's was quite different than today and certainly very closeted. What will always remain the same whether it is 1945 or today is the love, emotions, and personal intimacy that people share and have in common. A remarkable memoir!!Joe Hanssen

Brilliant

One of the best books, I've ever read. This book deals with working class gays,who are not int the closet, nor are they self hating stereotypes. This book should be given to every young gay male, starting out in the world.

A nice look back at gay life

It must have been extremely difficult to be gay in the 1940's yet the characters in the book seemed to find a way to live their lives being true to themselves. I hope that with all the freedoms that the gay community has now that they appreciate what they have and live as good of a life that the Kirmser folks did.

Snapshot Into St. Paul Gay Life

Ricardo J. Brown has left a slight memoir in The Evening Crowd at Kirmser's (A Gay Life in the 1940's) that gives a few brief, yet important, snapshots of a particular time and place. The author pulls from his memories his experiences during a couple of years in a working class bar in St. Paul that had a gay and lesbian clientele once the sun rolled down. It is interesting, for a change, to get a bit of gay history from a working class viewpoint and not from the one of the usual coastal cities of America. For this reason, this is an important document and one wishes that there were many more like it. The writing does not particulary sparkle and there are many questions still remaining but this book does present a broad range of characters that identify as being different and are simply looking for (and finding) companionship. A fascinating little volume.