Reading + Discussion: Alice, Memoirs of a Barbary Coast Prostitute

The serialized accounts published by the San Francisco Bulletin were (and still are) considered to be some of the most progressive reporting by a newspaper for the time, in 1913: A true, first-person look at life as a sex worker at the turn of the century in one of the West’s biggest cities. Originally titled “A Voice from the Underground,” the serialized memoirs published under the ghost-written pseudonym Alice Smith are now collected in the 2016 book Alice: Memoirs of a Barbary Coast Prostitute, by San Francisco-based authors Ivy Anderson and Devon Angus. New findings in the duo’s research now brings them to Spokane, where they believe Alice lived before her journey south. Before setting out to conduct additional research on her Spokane connections, the duo discusses the book, their findings since its publication and the original 1913 series’ historical significance at a local event.

Tue, Feb. 27, at 7 pm • Auntie’s Bookstore • 402 W. Main, Spokane • Free • auntiesbooks.com • 838-0206