We're All Freaks: Details on the Clermont Lounge Book

A book about Clermont Lounge will release this holiday season. Written by Dana Hazels Seith, No Cameras: The Clermont Lounge documents the story of the infamous Poncey-Highland dive bar/strip club. Seith has a long piece in this week's The Bitter Southerner, in which she details all that happened in the three years she researched the book, from Blondie kicking her out of the dressing room to meeting a longtime club employee with cancer. Read on for an excerpt, and find the whole piece— with pictures— right here:

She may be the star, but Blondie's story is not the story of Clermont Lounge. Not even close. What makes this spot so special cannot be contained in the story of a single character. Each girl in her own way makes up a piece of the cast to create the ensemble. To me, there was no one girl more special than the other. Here's the thing: In almost every interview, no matter who was talking, every person who spent time there—from bartender to customer to dancer—told me the same thing. You can be yourself at the Clermont Lounge.