Moby Dyke

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Moby Dyke
Moby Dyke by Krista Burton.jpg
AuthorKrista Burton
Genre Nonfiction
Publication date
June 6, 2023
Pages320
ISBN 978-1-6680-0054-0

Moby Dyke is a 2023 book by Krista Burton that documents America's remaining lesbian bars and tries to identify the sources of the industry's decline amid a growing proportion of the population identifying as LGBTQ+. [1] Burton visited each of the twenty bars profiled in the book at least twice. [2] [3] [4]

Burton's interest in the industry's decline began in 2010 when she and her girlfriend sought out a Chicago lesbian bar shortly after moving to the city. [5] [6] During the COVID-19 pandemic, Burton was asked what she missed the most – dyke bars – and found an agent but then learned the depth of the industry's decline. [7]

Reception

A review for Publishers Weekly described Burton's book as "a witty cross-country tour of lesbian bars", praising the author's humor throughout it, as well as her observations on the decline of lesbian bars in the United States. [8] Kirkus Reviews commented on Burton's writing style, which they called "bloglike" due to its inclusion of stream of consciousness prose, as well as the fact it's written more as a travel diary instead of an academic study. They concluded the review by calling Moby Dyke "a lighthearted, honest narrative about [the author's] messy adventure." [9]

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References

  1. Thomas, June (2023-06-05). "Lesbian bars, once revolutionary, are dying out. A new book explores why". Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved 2024-02-08.
  2. Rubino, Stef (2023-06-06). "New Book Looks at Disappearing Lesbian Bars". Archived from the original on 2023-10-04. Retrieved 2024-02-08.
  3. "An Epic Journey to America's Last Lesbian Bars". Archived from the original on 2024-01-20. Retrieved 2024-02-08.
  4. Dumond, Susie (2023-06-13). "A Toast to Books About Queer Bars". Archived from the original on 2023-06-13. Retrieved 2024-02-08.
  5. Burton, Krista (2017-04-14). "Opinion, I Want My Lesbian Bars Back". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2023-08-29. Retrieved 2024-02-08.
  6. "When did lesbian bars become the white whale of watering holes?". 2023-08-25. Archived from the original on 2023-08-29. Retrieved 2024-02-08.
  7. Schlichenmeyer, Terri (2023-08-07). "'Moby Dyke: An Obsessive Quest to Track Down the Last Remaining Lesbian Bars in America'". Archived from the original on 2023-09-25. Retrieved 2024-02-08.
  8. "Moby Dyke: An Obsessive Quest to Track Down the Last Remaining Lesbian Bars in America by Krista Burton". Publishers Weekly . April 5, 2023. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
  9. "Moby Dyke". Kirkus Reviews . April 3, 2023. Retrieved March 17, 2024.