GAYSPEAK / Community Visions

GAYSPEAK was the newsletter for the Pikes Peak Gay Community Center, editions of which are in PPLD's Digital Collections..

Gayspeak was a monthly newsletter that included local and Center-related news, as well as national and international news, pertaining to the LGBTQIA2+ community. Readers could submit advertisements, articles, and letters to the editor, and the newsletter was distributed directly to subscribers, PPGCC affiliated groups, and local LGBTQ-friendly bars. ^[1]

In 1992, GAYSPEAK's name was changed to Community Visions. The first issue following the change was included as an insert in the lesbian newspaper, New Phazes, "in the hopes of increasing awareness of both the Community Center and the lesbian community, and their work together." ^[2]

Following the center closing its doors, issues of Gayspeak were donated to Inside Out Youth Services, who in turn donated the materials to Pikes Peak Library Special Collections. The newsletters are a significant source of research for this project. ^[3]

Gayspeak Articles of Note

• October 1988: Norman Zaro, an inmate in Folsom Prison, writes a letter to the editor of Gayspeak. In his letter, he says "I've been fighting this terrible feeling of loneliness with all my strength, it seems to be taking me over and I feel completely isolated from the whole world." He states that he doesn't receive any mail at all, and asks if the publication can help him find a friend. This letter shows the importance of later organizations that would arise for outreach to LGBTQ+ inmates, such as Black and Pink.
• "Interested in starting a Bed and Breakfasts for traveling lesbians? All you need is a spare room. FREE handbook for seriously interested women! Write to: Fountain Institute for Women, P.O. Box 222-T, Carle Place, NY., 111514"

Gayspeak Issue Locations

Questions

• What is Speakout? It was mentioned in the May 1998 issue of Gayspeak. A gay radio show? They asked the audience "What sort of services would you like to see the PPGCC provide?"
• PPLD has volume 4 and onward. Does anyone have the first three volumes?
  • Colorado College Special Collections does have some issues of Gayspeak that PPLD does not have, including some of volume 3. The entirety of Volumes 1 and 2 remain missing.

References