StoryCorps: Interviewing Bob Levine

(L) Bob Levine (aka Rose Levine), (R) Tomik Dash

I had the honor of meeting Bob Levine during the summer of 2020 in Cherry Grove, Fire Island. Bob first arrived to the island in 1955 and has been there ever since. Because Bob is very well known for his legendary drag persona, Rose Levine, I was honored when another longtime resident of the island asked me if I’d be interested in interviewing Bob for StoryCorps.

StoryCorps is an organization whose mission is to preserve and share humanity’s stories in order to build connections between people and create a more just and compassionate world. To my surprise they weren’t interested in learning about Rose Levine, they wanted to hear about Bob’s experience living on the island during the AIDS epidemic. The conversation was very enlightening and helped me learn more about an important period of time and about my friend.

Our conversation is archived at The Library of Congress in Washington D.C. You can listen to it here.