Oral History Interview with Pamila Matharu (2014)
Grassroots movement, identity, politics, Desh Pardesh, South Asian, arts festival, oral history, Harris
Matharu discusses the critical progressive nature of the Desh Pardesh festival, and how this was targeted specifically for a population of people of colour. Matharu also touches briefly on the intergenerational nature of the festival, and how this constant contact between groups allowed a flourishing of thought and artistry. Matharu concludes by outlining that Desh can be replicated in the modern day and perhaps may be easier to accomplish with the rise of the internet. She also equates the demise of Desh to the precariousness of the arts industry in general and the rise of the Harris government.
South Asian Visual Arts Centre (SAVAC)
2014-08-11
Anna Malla
LGBTQ Oral History DIgital Collaboratory (Elspeth Brown, PI)
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License
PDF, (unknown)
English
Sound, Text
1990s Toronto
Interview with Phil Conron
oral history, gay culture, cruising
In this oral history interview, Phil Conron, 53 years old, discusses growing up in Toronto in the 1940s, trying to fit in with other boys in school, and early adolescent sexual experiences with other young men. He discusses his involvement with the gay social scene in Toronto in the 1950s and 60s, touching on topics that include cruising in Queen’s Park, going to parties and other gay social spaces on Toronto Island, bar culture, group sex parties, bath houses, police harassment, and a brief stint living in Vancouver in the late 1950s. Conron had long-term relationships with several men, which he outlines in brief. He also discusses his developing taste, later in life, for intergenerational relationships with young men in their early 20s. Conron briefly discusses his career, which is not identified in specific terms, and his growing participation as an actor in community theatre after his retirement.
Foolscap Oral History Project
1985-05-22
Anna Malla
CLGA
PDF, WAV
English
Sound, text
2016-034
Toronto, Vancouver, 1950s, 1960s
Interview with Michael Dafoe
oral history, relationships, bars
In this oral history interview Michael Dafoe, 53 years old, describes his life as gay teacher and historian in Toronto. The interview begins with Michael discussing his background. He mentions he was born in Winnipeg to an upper middle-class family, he describes his relationship with parents and friends, his teenage years in the 1940s, his education, his growing up pretending to be straight, and his moving to Toronto in the 1960s. The interview covers Michael’s coming out experience, his entry into the Toronto gay scene, friendships, bars, parties, and meeting places. He also comments on male prostitution in the city, his relationships with hustlers, his inability to make long-term emotional connections, his disagreement with gay liberationist stances, and the need to create a group for gay old men in Toronto.
Foolscap Oral History Project
1984-03-10
John Grube
CLGA
PDF, WAV
English
Sound, text
2016-034
Toronto 1960s, 1970s, 1980s
Interview with John Nixon
oral history, imprisonment, intergenerational relationships
John Nixon, 52 years old at the time of this oral history interview, discusses his facing charges for having sex with young guys, the trial process, and his imprisonment in the Saint John mental hospital in New Brunswick. He also discusses coping with and overcoming depression, the attack or support of people around him while facing charges, his life in prison, ties with people at Saint John, and his avoiding of sexual relations while in jail. John also narrates his early life in New Brunswick, relationship with family, moving to Toronto, work as a parts-man in a service station, sexual life after jail, involvement in the Toronto gay scene and in intergenerational relationships. The interview ends with John explaining why he is critical of radical gay liberationists and of the gay newspaper The Body Politic. He argues that police department’s attitude had changed in recent years, resulting in a decrease in police harassment.
Foolscap Oral History Project
1982-11-07
John Grube
CLGA
PDF, WAV
English
Sound, text
2016-034
New Brunswick, 1940s, 1950s; Toronto 1960s, 1970s, 1980s