Lambda Rising Bookstore (by Jillian Ribakove)
The Lambda Rising Bookstore in Washington, D.C. was a pivotal business in promoting the education of the LGBTQ community. It was originally opened by Deacon Maccubbin in 1974. Maccubbin had been inspired by the Oscar Wilde bookstore and it's impact on the LGBTQ community when on a trip to New York City in 1972 (1). The Lambda Rising Bookstore would eventually be a chain of four bookstores, the main store located in Dupont Circle neighborhood in Washington D.C., a second one in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, the third being in Baltimore, and the fourth in Norfolk, Virgina. All of the stores were officially closed by 2010, but their legacy lives on through the Lambda Literary Awards, created in 1989, inspired by the Lambda Book Report Maccubbin published through Lambda Rising. (2).
When Maccubbin opened Lambda Rising, there were only 250 titles on it's shelves since, as Maccubbin put it, "That's all there was at the time." The original mission Maccubbin had for the store was to demonstrate the need for publishings based around the LGBTQ community in order to increase the demand that all bookstores, LGBTQ focused or not, carry books related to the community. The store was the only non-bar location for members of the LGBTQ community to go to in order to meet others and build relationships. One of the later managers of the store, Jane Troxell, is quoted as saying, "[We have] moments of transcendence silliness! It's great to disseminate LGBT lit and introduce people to new books, but there are moments here when we laugh until we cry. We can't get over it; some people are just so gay!" (1). The store grew to sell more than books, but LGBTQ memorabilia and tickets to local LGBTQ events, including, but not limited to: The Gay Men's Chorus, the Lesbian and Gay Chorus, and an LGBT film festival, Reel Affirmations. The store not only sold current literature, but unique, out of print books that were rare finds. The whole goal was to promote the publications of all LGBTQ literature and support LGBTQ authors. Frank Kameny, a prominent LGBTQ activist who co-founded the Mattachine D.C. Society and is considered, "The father of the Gay Rights Movement," confirmed Maccubbin had met his goal. After a visit to Lambda Rising, Kameny said, "No non-gay bookstore that I know has a gay section with content remotely comparable to that of Lambda Rising, and many of the publications found there (including one that I bought only today) will be totally unavailable elsewhere."
Deacon Maccubin himself has a strong history of bettering the support and representation of the LGBTQ community within Washington D.C. Maccubbin not only opened a bookstore that revisioned the way people view LGBTQ literature, but helped organize Gay Pride Day in Washington D.C. in 1975. Because of the work him and other activists did then, we are able to enjoy Capital Pride todday, with a turn out of over 250,000 people, while Gay Pride Day only attracted about 2,000 (3). He also played a pivotal role in promoting the acceptance of gay-orientated advertising in publications such as the "Washington Post, the Yellow Pages, and the local NBC and ABC affiliates" (2). He published the Lambda Book Report, a bimonthly publication focused on reviewing literature, "By, for, and about the GLBT community, expanded the market for GLBT literature and increased the acquisition of GLBT-themed books of all genres for libraries around the United States" (4). It furthered the acceptance of LGBTQ literature and inspired the beginnings of the Lambda Literary Awards. Finally, Maccubbin bought the Oscar Wilde bookstore in 2003 when he saw them starting to go belly-up. He decided that, whether he made a profit of it or not, it was too important to let it die away, having been the first LGBTQ bookstore in the U.S. He made many changes to it to keep afloat for many years, including increasing the number of newspapers and magazines they sold and expanding their selection of books to include fewer copies of more titles (5). By doing this, Maccubbin gave the bookstore another six years of life, until technology, such as Amazon, overpowered the need for independent bookstores such as the Oscar Wilde bookstore in 2009.
A significant development the Lambda Rising bookstore brought about was the Lambda Literary Awards. The purpose of the awards were originally to, "Identify and celebrate the best lesbian and gay books in the year of their publication" (4). It has since grown to include writing workshops and specific awards dedicated to lesbian literature, bisexual and transsexual literature, and LGBTQ literature overall. It continues to bring awareness to LGBTQ literature and promotes the importance of literature as a way to educate others on the LGBTQ community. Just this year, Jane Wagner, a famous playwright and wife to Lily Tomlin, a famous actress, was awarded with the Visionary Award, which is awarded to those, "Who have broken new ground in the field of LGBTQ literature and publishing" (6). Overall, the awards are prestigious honors, highlighting the achievements of LGBTQ writers and the art the community creates.
Overall, the Lambda Rising Bookstore had a significant impact on the spreading of LGBTQ literature and in furthering the education within and outside of the LGBTQ community. While they closed in 2010 when Maccubbin and his husband retired, the store's legacy lives on through the Lambda Literary Awards and through the memories of those who felt the comfort and community that surrounded the store. Deacon Maccubbin was a figurehead in the Washington D.C. LGBTQ community and helped better the future of the community from all the hard work and preservation he did while in business. He holds a firm belief that stores like his are an important part of educating youth on the LGBTQ community and in leading to acceptance. While the Lambda Rising Bookstore wasn't the first of it's kind, it was most certainly a main player in the bettering of the community.
Footnotes
(1) Moore, "Missionary Work," 47.
(2) Rosendall, "Holding the center," 8.
(3) Dalphonse, "You Must Remember...Deacon Maccubbin and Jim Bennett."
(4) Lambda Literary, "Mission & History."
(5) American Booksellers Association, "Lambda Owner Takes Over NYC's Oscar Wilde Bookshop."
(6) Lambda Literary, "Visionary Award."
Bibliography
BTW. "Lambda Owners Takes Over NYC's Oscar Wilde Bookshop." American Booksellers Association, February 4, 2003. https://www.bookweb.org/news/lambda-owner-takes-over-nycs-oscar-wilde-bookshop
Chibbaro Jr., Lou. "End of an Era, as Lambda Rising to Close." Washington Blade, December 11, 2009. https://www.washingtonblade.com/2009/12/11/end-of-an-era-as-lambda-rising-to-close/
Dalphonse, Sherri. "You Must Remember...Deacon Maccubbin and Jim Bennett." Washingtonian, October 12, 2015. https://www.washingtonian.com/2015/10/12/washington-dc-legends-jim-bennett-and-deacon-maccubbin/
Highleyman, Liz. "PAST Out: What is the History of Gay Bookstores?" Camp Rehoboth Community Center, February 7, 2003. https://www.camprehoboth.com/letters/2003/february-7-2003-past-out
Lambda Literary. "Mission & History." Accessed December 8, 2020. https://www.lambdaliterary.org/history-mission/
Lambda Literary. "Visionary Award." Accessed December 8, 2020. https://www.lambdaliterary.org/visionary-award-2/
Moore, Lisa C. "Missionary Work." Resources Bookstore (February 2004): 47. http://web.a.ebscohost.com.dbsearch.fredonia.edu:2048/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=4&sid=41389cca-c76b-4cfd-a6d3-288c86e10e06%40sessionmgr4007
Rosendall, Richard J. "Holding the center." Bay Windows 27, no. 52 (December 2009): 8. http://web.a.ebscohost.com.dbsearch.fredonia.edu:2048/ehost/delivery?sid=41389cca-c76b-4cfd-a6d3-288c86e10e06%40sessionmgr4007&vid=25&ReturnUrl=http%3a%2f%2fweb.a.ebscohost.com%2fehost%2fdetail%2fdetail%3fvid%3d24%26sid%3d41389cca-c76b-4cfd-a6d3-288c86e10e06%2540sessionmgr4007%26bdata%3dJnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%253d%253d
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