On October 26, North Carolina said goodbye to a Southern hero—Allan Troxler, a Durham artist behind the scenes of the gay rights, environmental protection, and the antiwar movements. 

A memorial piece feels like a bit of a hard sell, but I think this is ultimately a pretty uplifting story about someone who lived their life with quiet integrity and attention to beauty, with a lot to teach future generations about fighting the good fight. Pouring over his archives at the Rubenstein library was, honestly, one of the more moving experiences I’ve had in a while. There was vibrant artistic ephemera across so many struggles; so many letters and journals and drafts that were not designed for an audience (easy to forget that things can be created just to be, in the age of social media). Here’s Mab Segrest, another legendary Durham organizer, on Troxler’s influence: 

“He is part of the legacy of North Carolina, part of the queer legacy, part of the artistic legacy, and part of a spiritual determination not to be mowed down by the brutal forces that we grew up in and pushed back,” says Segrest. “And now they’re coming back again. So I think he is both rich anecdotally, but he is also rich as an antidote to all the things in this culture that could destroy us.”`

Earlier this year, I heard Segrest speak in a commemorative capacity for the writer Dorothy Allison (of Bastard Out of Carolina fame) at a homegrown memorial at Night School Bar, with honeysuckle vines and candles strung across a table. The papers of Allison, also an LGBTQ pioneer, are likewise archived at Duke. Which ties into another sentiment from Segrest on the urgency of archiving and remembering: 

“People my age—we understand that a generation is dying. It’s a generation that got us through all of these hard times to substantial victories that this MAGA group of folks is in the process of very effectively dismantling.” 

I hope you’ll read! A few more things below.

“Earth Heart” by Allan Troxler. Image courtesy of Pamela George.

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elsewhere in the culture section

Here are some ideas for things to do this week. 

The Michelin Guide—which cities do pay for, but which nonetheless is a high-water mark that helps bring in regional dollars—has expanded to the American South. From Elliott Harrell, here is a rundown of the local restaurants that made the guide. 

ICYMI: Extraterrestrial CEOs, a local dating app…but IRL…but still with an app, music-themed cocktails, a brewery consolidation. 

If you’d like to advertise your business to Field Guide’s 20,000-plus subscribers, please contact [email protected].

out and about in the triangle

There’s a new Benchwarmers location in Raleigh, and a new “fish shack” coming to the Old Wimpy’s spot in Durham. Raleigh artist Azul has a new EP coming out, and WUNC’s Brian Burns has an interview with Ari Picker about Dante High’s last show. There is now a zine machine at the Durham Food Hall! A campus map of Duke’s trees. 

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— Sarah Edwards —
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Sarah Edwards is culture editor of the INDY, covering cultural institutions and the arts in the Triangle. She joined the staff in 2019 and assumed her current role in 2020.