Book Launch: LEGENDS OF DRAG by Harry James Hanson & Devin Antheus

Drag has officially transcended the underground and exploded into the mainstream. Queens have more visibility than ever, and it’s been hard won through decades of perseverance, imagination, and intergenerational support within local drag communities. It’s time to honor the queens who paved the way for the new generation of drag and are still carrying out their work today.

​To create Legends of Drag, a photo book and archive of living drag history, authors Harry James Hanson and Devin Antheus traveled coast to coast, visiting 16 cities to meet 80 legendary entertainers who shared boundless wisdom and powerful anecdotes from their lives. These queens are featured in stunning portraits shot on location and styled with unique floral elements.

Harry James Hanson is an artist, creative director, and lifelong drag performer based in Brooklyn. Their work spans the fine art, commercial, and editorial worlds, driven by a desire to tell beautiful stories and collaborate with other artists. Hanson’s photography has been published in the New York Times, Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Dazed, PAPER, New York magazine, and Rolling Stone.

Devin Antheus is a floral stylist, spirit worker, and writer living in San Francisco. They are a devotee of the Goddess Flora, a founder of the Temple of Dionysos, and the Thiasos of the Flowering Branch. They teach classes on floral design, Mediterranean mystery traditions, and queer spiritualities. Their writing has appeared in Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, the New Inquiry, and Co-Star Astrology Society. They are an editor-at-large for Contagion Press.

Linda Simpson’s photos of NYC’s drag scene in the 1980s and ‘90s have been featured in books, magazines, art exhibits and documentaries, as well her own touring slideshow. Her two books are PAGES (Peradam, 2013) and The Drag Explosion (Domain, 2020). She has also worked as a nightlife promoter, journalist, playwright, actress and game show hostess.

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