THURSDAY 3rd JULY
7:30pm
BOOK HERE
‘Sir, we are homosexuals . . .’
So began the letter penned by Roger Butler and sent to several British newspaper editors – some of whom were so shocked they thought it was a hoax – in June 1960. Writing such a letter seven years before the decriminalisation of homosexuality was a radical and dangerous move. It was a risk that set a major milestone in the fight for gay rights – one that has been almost entirely forgotten.
We welcome Christopher Stephens & Louise Radnofsky to chat at the bookshop with our very own Freddie Butler-de Lacy about this extraordinary story of the first man to come out voluntarily, using his own name, to the entire British public, a decade before activists started petitioning gay people everywhere to ‘come out proud’.
Taking us through a criminalised underworld of gay pubs, parties and activist meetings, The Light of Day charts how Roger helped bring about the legalisation of homosexuality, but soon found himself marginalised from the movement he kickstarted after losing his sight in his early 30s.
Your book is the “really good book. Just one” that Roger Butler would have wanted’ – Sir Ian McKellen
“Miraculous. The Light of Day reclaims a forgotten hero of the struggle for queer civil rights in a story that is a testament to courage, determination and love across generations.” – Dr Will Tosh, author of Straight Acting: The Many Queer Lives of William Shakespeare
Tickets are £5 (+a small booking fee)
Includes admission and refreshment
BOOK HERE