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In youth, Brooks Kolb traveled from city to city, finding different parts of himself — queerness paramount among them. Spanning the sexual liberation of the 70s and the AIDS epidemic of the 80s, Brooks Kolb’s Landscape in Lavender traces one man’s journey towards self-discovery and the loves that bloom in the light of self-acceptance. In conversation with Michael Bosnick, join Brooks Kolb for the NYC launch of his debut book. 

Brooks Kolb was educated at the American College in Paris, University College London, and the University of Pennsylvania. At Penn he trained in landscape architecture under Ian McHarg, famed author of Design With Nature, and with Laurie Olin, subject of the 2024 documentary Sitting Still. After coming out of the closet, he moved to San Francisco, where he witnessed two key periods of gay history: the post-Stonewall era of sexual liberation and the tragic AIDS epoch. The principal of Brooks Kolb LLC Landscape Architecture, Brooks’s practice is devoted to residential garden design. A long-term park preservation advocate and founding member of Seattle’s Volunteer Park Trust, he currently serves on the boards of Allied Arts of Seattleand the Allied Arts Foundation. An avid swimmer, Brooks lives in Seattle with his husband, Dennis, and their miniature schnauzer, Stella.

Michael Bosnick is a recently retired New York City government Deputy Commissioner, with additional stints in magazine publishing (marketing) and non-profit youth services programming.  His government career consisted of three phases: child welfare, affordable housing, and aging services. 

The Bureau of General Services—Queer Division is Manhattan’s only queer bookstore, located on the second floor of the LGBT Center. We’re open Tuesday-Sunday from 1-7pm and accessible by the 6th Ave 1 2 3 L trains and 8th Ave A C E trains. Our cafe, The Bureau Cafe, is open Tuesday-Sunday from 9am-7pm.