In this gripping memoir of the AIDS years (1981–1996), Sarah Schulman recalls how much of the rebellious queer culture, cheap rents, and a vibrant downtown arts movement vanished almost overnight to be replaced by gay conservative spokespeople and mainstream consumerism. Schulman takes us back to her Lower East Side and brings it to life, filling these pages with vivid memories of her avant-garde queer friends and dramatically recreating the early years of the AIDS crisis as experienced by a political insider. Interweaving personal reminiscence with cogent analysis, Schulman details her experience as a witness to the loss of a generation’s imagination and the consequences of that loss.
Sarah Schulman is Distinguished Professor of English at the College of Staten Island, CUNY, USA. She is a novelist, playwright, screenwriter, nonfiction writer, AIDS historian, journalist, and active participant citizen.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments Introduction: Making Record from Memory
Part I. Understanding the Past 1. The Dynamics of Death and Replacement 2. The Gentrification of AIDS 3. Realizing That They’re Gone
Part II. The Consequences Of Loss 4. The Gentrification of Creation 5. The Gentrification of Gay Politics 6. The Gentrification of Our Literature
Conclusion: Degentrification—The Pleasure of Being Uncomfortable
What People are Saying About This
From the Publisher
"This bracing, powerful, and well-reasoned work reaffirms the author's stature as a distinctive American woman of letters. . . . Highly recommended."—Library Journal
"The book that's inspired me more than any other this year is Sarah Schulman's Gentrification of the Mind: Witness to a Lost Imagination, a razor-sharp memoir of New York in the heyday of the AIDS crisis."—Slate
"Teeming with ideas, necessary commentary, refreshing connections and examination of the status quo."—Lambda Literary
"A brilliant critique of contemporary culture. . . . This is the most important book of the year."—Cult Mtl
"Schulman's personal recollections... are sharp and vivid."—Gay & Lesbian Review/Worldwide
