The World Beyond BetterMost > The Culture Tent
Lesbian and/or Feminist Literature and Writing
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.
Brown Eyes:
--- Quote from: Front-Ranger on February 05, 2009, 04:57:48 pm ---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.
--- End quote ---
I think I've heard the title Middlesex... but I don't know much about it. It features lesbian characters? Tell us more Bud!
Brown Eyes:
Heya!
Well, I've been done with Lonesome Dove for a while now. And, I'm back to the pursuit of good lesbian books and short stories. Recently, I ordered the
Penguin Book Of Lesbian Short Stories by Reynolds, Margaret, recommended earlier in this thread. So, I'll look forward to that arriving.
I actually have a copy of Stone Butch Blues somewhere that an ex-girlfriend once gave me long, long ago. I've never read it yet though.
So, to keep the recommendations going here... I thought I'd post about a classic: The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall (1928)
I have an old paper back copy of it that was put out in 1981 and this is what the blurb on the back says:
"She was named Stephen by the adoring daddy to whom she was 'all the son I have.' Her mother detested the raffish little tomboy, who was driven from Morton Hall and her family's aristocratic soceity, into the fashionable lesbian world of 1920s Paris. In her day, an 'indecent' woman who pursued sexual needs - of any kind - was condemned to tragedy. Stephen's first love, for a frivolous American girl, ended bitterly. And when Stephen found the love of her life, she had to sacrifice the woman to a man who could offer respectability.
---
The Well of Loneliness was instantly banned on two continents but the literary world's reaction was favorable. The New Republic said, 'Miss Hall's treatement of her subject, serious, honest and dignified, is a challenge to the crude mind of a class which sees no solution of social problems except prohibition and censorship.' The Saturday Review said, ' Miss Hall's appeal is a powerful one, and it is supported by passages of great force and beauty.' The New Statesman called it 'a brave book,' while The New York Herald Tribune praised its 'passionate plea for the world's understanding and sympathy.' Today, this haunting novel is judged one of the finest portraits of women in love ever created.'"
Re-reading the blurb about this makes me want to re-read this book. It's been a long time.
Brown Eyes:
Heya,
I'm back to recommend a fun, "gossipy" book about lesbians in the film industry and historic Hollywood. I remember coming across this book when I was a TA for a couple film history/theory courses in graduate school.
<img src="http://www.divshare.com/img/6657222-674.jpg" border="0" />
It's called The Girls: Sappho Goes to Hollywood by Diana McLellan (2000)
And, here's the blurb from Amazon:
--- Quote ---From Publishers Weekly
Chill out, Ellen and Anne: flagrant lesbianism has been afoot in Hollywood for decades. This saucily written look at the lives of prominent lesbian and bisexual actresses from the 1920s to the '40s brings together old facts and gossip with new details and a cohesive analysis of the relationships between sexuality, feminism and power in the film industry. Drawing on standard biographiesAsuch as Gavin Lambert's Nazimova, Maria Riva's Dietrich, Brendan Gill's Tallulah and Barry Paris's GarboAas well as interviews, trade and movie magazines and studio publicity, McLellan focuses mainly on the lives of Garbo, Dietrich, Mercedes De Acosta and their circles. While the writing has a tinge of movie magazine breathlessness (e.g., "When Mercedes drove Greta to the studio for the first day's shooting on Conquest, Greta was in tears"), McLellan has an astute eye for psychological detail and a fine sense of industry power plays. Most importantly, this syndicated columnist and editor at Ladies' Home Journal understands that these women's sexuality and their innumerable affairs, flirtations and romances were not exotic, superficial dalliances, but integral to their lives, identities and art. Although basic information about Garbo, Dietrich and De Acosta has been available in the past, McLellan's investigations into such varied topics as Salka Viertel's political interests and Tallulah Bankhead's career and her affair with Hattie McDonald, bring a broader context and new sense of scholarship to the subject.
--- End quote ---
Lumière:
--- Quote from: Lumière on December 04, 2008, 02:19:51 pm ---She has an upcoming novel called Risk, set for release in April 2009.
From Amazon.com:
Risk is a beautifully told story that spans the years from the mid-eighties to the post-9/11 world. Carol is an idealistic, Berkeley-educated, Jewish lesbian living in Oakland, California. Downwardly mobile, the Berkeley grad makes her living by tutoring high school students. Through Carol’s life, Dykewomon explores the changing times and values in America.
--- End quote ---
This book is finally available to order.
In fact, I received my copy from Amazon today.
I've been looking forward to this since I saw it listed on amazon a while ago. :)
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