Author Archives: Christina

Edward Field
A Minor Accident of War
Award-winning Short film

Gay World War 2 Veteran Tells Harrowing Tale of Survival
in Animated Short

The Oscar 2020 nominated animated short, A Minor Accident of War, directed by Diane Weiss tells the gripping story of a gay man’s survival in World War 2.

That man is her uncle, Westbeth poet Edward Field, 96 who was a 21 year old navigator in the U.S. Air Force when his plane, part of a raid on Nazis, took fire over Germany during one of his 27 missions.

One of the reasons the film was made, Weiss explains in the 112 January 2021 article in The Advocate written by Daniel Reynolds, was in response to the Trump administrations attack on transgender troops.

Watch A MINOR ACCIDENT OF WAR on The Advocate website HERE.


Minor Accident of War is inspired by a 1967 poem written by Field, who also narrates the production. In addition to his military service, Field is a distinguished poet who has been honored with the Lamont Poetry Award, a Lambda Award, and a Guggenheim Fellowship. Additionally, Field penned To Be Alive, a short documentary that won an Oscar in 1966.

Manhattan’s Last Home for Artists Weathers Another Storm

Wikimedia photo

Excerpts from the article in Bedford and Bowery
by Sarah Krolewski
January 12, 2021

…“Westbeth was very concerned about everything” related to COVID-19, said Walter, a sentiment echoed by many other residents. “People here are vulnerable, but I feel very taken care of.”

Residents still stop for conversations with each other, standing six feet apart, and banter with staff at the front desk. Younger Westbethers feel compassion for their older counterparts, and disputes have died down. Most of the building’s usual events have moved online, attracting a steady stream of participants. Cominskie says he feels optimistic about the current board’s ability to meet future challenges. Westbeth appointed a new CEO, Ellen Salpeter, in 2019, a change that even long-time residents, accustomed to administrative shuffling, find promising. These are hazy signs that Westbeth may continue to survive, not fade away, and that it may at last be doing something right.”

” Months into the pandemic, masks are now mandatory in every part of Westbeth, and volunteers have continued to help the building’s most vulnerable residents with errands. The work of people like Dowling and Cominskie—a coterie of advocates fiercely committed to Westbeth—has helped to bring this community back from the brink.

“The collective energy of the building has been phenomenal,” said Cominskie, reached over the phone in October. “You’re going through this horrible period, and then somebody does something incredibly sweet—and you want to cry, it’s that wonderful.”

Even in the midst of so much grief and fear, Westbeth’s artists are continuing to make art, channeling these emotions into new and compelling work.”

““Our artists are the most important thing,” said Cominskie. “Without them, it’s just another apartment complex.”

Read the entire article which features interviews with Charles Seplowin, Karen Santry, Kate Walter, and George Cominskie.

“Our artists are the most important thing,” said Cominskie. “Without them, it’s just another apartment complex.”

Read the entire article which features interviews with George Cominskie, Karen Santry, Jack Dowling, Kate Walter and Charles Seplowin.
Bedfordl and Bowery about Westbeth