Oscar Wilde Memorial Bookshop (by Paige Rzepka)
The Oscar Wilde Memorial Bookshop first opened its doors on November 18th, 1967. The owner at the time was Craig Rodwell, who first proposed the idea of opening a bookstore to the Mattachine Society of New York earlier that year. Mattachine rejected the idea, so Rodwell opened the store on his own at the age of 26. Originally, the store was located at 291 Mercer Street, right near New York University. The shop eventually moved to 15 Christopher Street, right in the heart of the West Village.
Rodwell was a well-known gay activist. Not only was he a part of the Mattachine Society, but he also participated in the Stonewall Riots of 1969, the Christopher Street Liberation Day March, and was the founder of the Homophile Youth Movement group (1). Rodwell created the bookshop, not only as a place for people to purchase and enjoy gay and lesbian literature, but as a space where people could feel safe, be themselves, and grow as a community (2).
Rodwell was something of a rebel throughout his life, and this often caused him to get into trouble. From a young age, he had relationships with older men. He was arrested, abused, and suffered a suicide attempt in his early 20’s. After taking time to get back on track, Rodwell decided that he was going to become a serious advocate for the homosexual community. He served as the vice president of the Mattachine Society of New York for some time, and was a member of various other homophile organizations during the 1960s. He participated in a variety of protests that addressed issues of exclusion of gay people in the military, job equality, and basic human rights. He also organized “sip-ins” at bars in New York City to protest the State Liquor Authority regulation that said homosexuals weren’t allowed to gather together in places where alcohol was served. Rodwell decided that he wanted to have some kind of store front for the Mattachine Society–so the group could be more visible. The idea was struck down, so naturally, Rodwell created the store anyways. He named the store after Oscar Wilde because, at the time, Wilde was one of the most well-known homosexual writers, and Rodwell did not want anyone to be confused about what the purpose of the store was (3).
The store was not only a place where people were able to enjoy gay and lesbian literature, but it was a place where they could feel safe, and interact with people who were either gay themselves, or were allies and activists. Rodwell used the store as the central hub for the Homophile Youth Movement. This group was created so that young gay men and women could feel safe and comfortable in their sexuality. Additionally, Rodwell worked as a mentor to these young people in hopes that they would follow his guidance in a positive way. Since being gay was not widely accepted at this time, Rodwell felt that it was important for these young, gay people to have someone to look up to (4).
Books and periodicals lined the shelves of the store. Each one of these pieces displayed homosexuality in a positive light . Rodwell strictly prohibited the selling of pornographic materials. He wanted the bookstore to be a place where people came to display important bits of information, announce gatherings or meetings, and get to know new people. He hoped that this store could create a positive image for the homophile movement. The goal was to display the gay community in a respectable and professional way. There were plenty of signs on display that had messages saying “Gay is Good!” and “Gay Power,” and it was clear that the movement was serious, organized, and filled with hope and power (5).
The new store, located on Christopher Street, was owned by Rodwell until 1993. That year, he sold the shop and soon after, passed away after battling stomach cancer. The store remained open for 16 more years after Rodwell sold it. Unfortunately, due to the economic recession in 2008, the store closed . On March 29, 2009, the Oscar Wilde Memorial Bookshop closed its doors for good (6).
Though the store has been closed for a handful of years now, there is still great significance behind its existence. The store essentially functioned as a community center for the gay movement, especially in its early days. Rodwell’s store also inspired people to open up gay bookstores all around the nation. People wanted to gain the sense of community that so many people in New York City experienced when visiting the bookshop. Rodwell not only inspired the spread of gay bookshops, but he also helped devise plans to confront the issues of police brutality. An issue that continues till this day, police brutality against LGBT people at this time was nearing an all-time high. The people who gathered at the bookshop spearheaded a movement that would last 30 plus years. More than that, the store was the place where the idea for the first gay pride parade began. This is an important element of the Gay Liberation Movement, as the parade tradition still exists today. Craig Rodwell’s work truly inspired gay and lesbian people of this time to feel comfortable with who they were, and share that power with the rest of the world (7).
The bookshop was not only important to the movement because of the community it curated, but it was also vital to the continued publication of all kinds of LGBT literature and periodicals. Since the store sold exclusively gay and lesbian texts, more writers were encouraged to continue their work . Prior to the bookstore opening, gay and lesbian literature wasn’t always welcomed by major publishing companies. When it first opened, the shop had no more than two dozen titles lining the shelves. As time went on, more publishers became interested in gay literature. They signed more queer authors, and those authors published numerous works . This caused a rise in books about the LGBT community, which resulted in greater visibility and acceptance. Had it not been for the creation of the bookshop, this publishing boom might not have occurred until much later (8). By expanding accessible literature, LGBT people began to feel validated in their sexuality.
The Oscar Wilde Memorial Bookshop went far beyond its initial intentions to help unite the LGBT community in a unique and unexpected way. Though the store is now closed, the sense of support, acceptance, and community that came from it, as well as changes in LGBT representation, lives on .
Highleyman, Liz. “What is the History of Gay Bookstores?” Bay Area Reporter, February 13, 2003. http://search.ebscohost.com.dbsearch.fredonia.edu:2048/login.aspx?direct=true&db=qth&AN=9258080&site=ehost-live.
"OSCAR WILDE MEMORIAL BOOKSHOP: Historic Districts Council's Six to Celebrate." Historic Districts Councils Six to Celebrate. https://6tocelebrate.org/site/oscar-wilde-memorial-bookshop/.
"Oscar Wilde Memorial Bookshop." NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project. https://www.nyclgbtsites.org/site/oscar-wilde-memorial-bookshop/.
Queerstorian. "Homophile Youth Movement in Neighborhoods." World Queerstory. June 14, 2019. http://worldqueerstory.org/tag/homophile-youth-movement-in-neighborhoods/.
"The Closing of the Oscar Wilde Bookshop." Researching Greenwich Village History. November 28, 2012. https://greenwichvillagehistory.wordpress.com/2012/11/28/the-closing-of-the-oscar-wilde-books.
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