Forbidden Lives
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Stories from Wales
Will be published approx. on 17. November 2017
Book
Paperback/Softback
248 pages
978-1-78172-410-1 (ISBN)
Description
Forbidden Lives is a fascinating collection of portraits and discussions that aims to populate LGBT gaps in the history of Wales, a much neglected part of Welsh heritage. In it Norena Shopland reviews the reasons for this neglect while outlining the activity behind the recent growth of the LGBT profile here. She also surveys LGBT people and their activity as far back as Giraldus Cambrensis' Journey Through Wales in the twelfth century where he reports on 'bearded women' and other hermaphrodites. There is still plenty of work to do, as chapters on the responses to Pride in Wales and the first gay play, We All Fall Down, clearly show. But the stories of the people portrayed in the book are less likely to be repeated: the LGBT community has moved from living forbidden lives to a place largely less forbidding. Norena Shopland helps us understand the struggle which achieved these changes.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Bridgend
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Poetry Wales Press
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 203 mm
Width: 133 mm
Thickness: 15 mm
Weight
292 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-78172-410-1 (9781781724101)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Norena Shopland has a Master's degree in heritage studies and has worked for the British Museum, National Museums Scotland and the Museum of London. Now living back in Wales she has worked with leading heritage organisations including National Museums Wales, Glamorgan Archives and Cardiff Story. Shopland has extensively researched the heritage of LGBT people and issues in Wales for 15 years. She devised the first project in Wales to look at placing sexual orientation and gender identity into Welsh history, and managed Gender Fluidity, the first funded transgender project in Wales. She has been the main organiser of LGBT History Month Cymru for three years and arranged for Gillian Clarke to write the first poem in the world by a national or poet laureate celebrating the LGBT people of a country. Her work has appeared in the Welsh press, radio and TV and she regularly provides advice and support in the history of LGBT people in Wales. She lectures to staff networks of the Welsh Government, to numerous museums, archives, charities and other events such as BiFest, Sparkle and Pride.