Lesbian and/or Feminist Literature and Writing

[sel]

Hi Sel!!

Thanks for this report!  I'm very happy to hear that you enjoyed Tipping the Velvet.   I recommend watching the movie (actually a 3 part BBC mini series on DVD) if you get the chance, it's really fabulous and the source of a lot of the pictures that we've posted over on the Sarah Waters thread.

Hi Amanda!

Have just been over to the Sarah Waters thread, there's plenty to read. I will go back to it when I am not running out of time.

[Lumière]

Another title to add to the list of period, lesbian novels.
Pretty much every review I have read of this book has been good.


The World Unseen
by Shamim Sarif




Amazon.ca
In 1950's South Africa, free-spirited Amina has broken all the rules of her own conventional Indian community, and the new apartheid-led government, by running a café with Jacob her 'coloured' business partner. When she meets Miriam, a young wife and mother, their unexpected attraction pushes Miriam to question the rules that bind her and a chain of events is set in motion that changes both women forever. The World Unseen transports us to a vibrant, colourful world, a world that divides white from black and women from men, but one that might just allow an unexpected love to survive.

About the Author
Shamim Sarif lives in London with her partner Hanan and their two children. She was born in the UK, and is of South African and Indian descent. This heritage formed the starting point for her first novel, 'The World Unseen' which won a Betty Trask Award and the Pendleton May First Novel Award. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.


This book has also been adapted into a movie..

I recently purchased a box set of two movies adapted from two novels by Shamim Sarif:
The World Unseen and I can't think straight.  She wrote the screenplays and directed the movies herself.

Both movies were good but I enjoyed The World Unseen more.  The novel is wonderful and translated very well onto screen.
Check it out. 

[Lumière]

Reviving this thread to say....


The BBC is coming out with the much anticipated 90-minute TV adaptation of Anne Lister's life: "The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister".


"The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister".

Bold and passionate drama telling the story of Anne Lister, 1791-1840, a Yorkshire landowner, industrialist, traveller and diarist. She was a lesbian, who, despite needing to keep her orientation secret from society at large, in private defied the conventions of her times by living with her female lover.

Anne kept a detailed account of her life, her loves and her emotions in a fascinating and painfully honest 4,000,000-word journal. A sizeable portion was written in code, and the recent deciphering of the diaries provides an astonishing insight into the life of the woman who has been called Britain's first modern lesbian.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00snjmd




ALSO:


Check out this article on AfterEllen.com for the trailer and other details!


Can't wait to see this. 

[Sophia]

sounds like something I would like to see, Jane austen period in combo with feministic/gay angle how more cool can it be. Hope I will be able to see it
soon. Thanks for sharing!

Reviving this thread to say....


The BBC is coming out with the much anticipated 90-minute TV adaptation of Anne Lister's life: "The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister".


"The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister".

Bold and passionate drama telling the story of Anne Lister, 1791-1840, a Yorkshire landowner, industrialist, traveller and diarist. She was a lesbian, who, despite needing to keep her orientation secret from society at large, in private defied the conventions of her times by living with her female lover.

Anne kept a detailed account of her life, her loves and her emotions in a fascinating and painfully honest 4,000,000-word journal. A sizeable portion was written in code, and the recent deciphering of the diaries provides an astonishing insight into the life of the woman who has been called Britain's first modern lesbian.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00snjmd




ALSO:


Check out this article on AfterEllen.com for the trailer and other details!


Can't wait to see this. 

[Brown Eyes]

Hey M!!  Thanks for this info!  Sounds amazing!    So great to see you here Bud! We've missed you around here.

Reviving this thread to say....


The BBC is coming out with the much anticipated 90-minute TV adaptation of Anne Lister's life: "The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister".


"The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister".

Bold and passionate drama telling the story of Anne Lister, 1791-1840, a Yorkshire landowner, industrialist, traveller and diarist. She was a lesbian, who, despite needing to keep her orientation secret from society at large, in private defied the conventions of her times by living with her female lover.

Anne kept a detailed account of her life, her loves and her emotions in a fascinating and painfully honest 4,000,000-word journal. A sizeable portion was written in code, and the recent deciphering of the diaries provides an astonishing insight into the life of the woman who has been called Britain's first modern lesbian.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00snjmd




ALSO:


Check out this article on AfterEllen.com for the trailer and other details!


Can't wait to see this. 

[Front-Ranger]

What are your thoughts on the book Middlesex? I read an excerpt from it that was very good. I understand that John Gallagher was reading it recently.

I'm reading this now. It's extremely well written!

[Jeff Wrangler]

Britain's first modern lesbian.

I'm sorry, but I find that phrase kind of funny. Like, as opposed to what? Britain's last ancient lesbian?

[Brown Eyes]

Heya!  I'm so sorry to have gone missing from this thread (and BetterMost in general) for a little while.  I just needed a break from forums for a bit.

I've recently joined a lesbian bookclub in Pittsburgh and we're trying to build a reading list, so this thread is super useful!!  I'm wondering if people have more recommendations of full-length books?  There are a lot of anthologies listed throughout this thread, but I would love to hear more about full novels that folks have enjoyed. 

Thanks in advance for help on this!

[Penthesilea]

Heya!  I'm so sorry to have gone missing from this thread (and BetterMost in general) for a little while.  I just needed a break from forums for a bit.

Hi Amanda! Great to see you here again!
I've missed you.

I've recently joined a lesbian bookclub in Pittsburgh and we're trying to build a reading list, so this thread is super useful!!  I'm wondering if people have more recommendations of full-length books?  There are a lot of anthologies listed throughout this thread, but I would love to hear more about full novels that folks have enjoyed.  

Thanks in advance for help on this!

Your reviving this thread made me check out some age-old favorites of mine. No lesbian fiction among it, but some great feminist non-fiction. Most of them only in German though, I'm afraid. One I remembered, which has an American original, is Susan Brownmiller's Against Our Will.
I haven't read it in 20 years or so, thus I can't say how it holds up nowadays. From the viewpoint of a discussion group, this may be not the worst thing.


My favorite feminist book always was Ursula Scheu: Wir werden nicht als Mädchen geboren, wir werden dazu gemacht (We're not born as girls, we are made into girls). I don't think it was ever translated into English however. But who knows, maybe at some point someone will read this post who can read German.



As for fiction: If I think of our small BBM fandom, there are so many good stories in such a small fandom. There ought to be a plethora of stories online of lesbian fiction/erotica. There must be some good stuff among it.

Are you on goodreads? They have book groups/clubs, rec lists for almost anything, and plenty of tags. I think if you're looking for specific genres, this is a good place.
Their lists are really a great tool. If you look up a book, you get themed lists where this book is on, and can go from there. You can really get lost in their lists and surf from book to book, from list to list for hours. It shows you only two lists at a time by default, so don't forget to click "more lists with this book", you'll get plenty.

www.goodreads.com