The Penguin Book of Lesbian Short StoriesAnd more than that - sometimes women love women. Like Queen Victoria, the world has preferred to believe that sex between women is impossible, resulting in a long silence between the writings of Sappho and the flowering of talent produced by feminism and the sexual revolution. Lesbian writing has come a long way since Virginia Woolf's famous essay of 1928. Since then women have challenged traditional forms of expression and subject matter in an extraordinarily rich and varied discourse to give voice to the lesbian imagination. In this wide-ranging anthology, Margaret Reynolds has brought together the work of thirty-two women from Britain, continental Europe, and the Americas - including three specially commissioned pieces - that covers nearly a century of lesbian writing, from Sarah Orne Jewett (1897) to Jeanette Winterson (1993). The collection ranges from Frances Gapper's pastiche of a Romantic melodrama, through the wry humor of Merril Mushroom's description of butch and femme courting rituals, to the wit of Alison Bechdel's cartoon strip. The anxiety of unresolved desire is present in many stories - Radclyffe Hall's Miss Ogilvy is unable truly to find herself in this world, Djuna and Lillian hold back from each other in Anais Nin's "Cities of the Interior, " and the energy and commitment that should go into a loving relationship are stifled by convention in Jane Rule's story of passion outside marriage. But here are brave spirits, too - Renee Vivien's Sarolta and her Prince(ss) live forever in a vision of ideal tenderness, Colette's heroines preserve the sanctity of their little white bed, and Jewelle Gomez's bulldagger society survives far from the haunts of men. There arecoming-out stories, stories about cross-dressing, vampire tales, science fiction, parody, and romance. Each story is quite different from the others, yet each acknowledges a particular facet of lesbian history and makes it real. |
From inside the book
Results 1-3 of 33
Page 105
Surely , until tomorrow , I will sink into the depths of a dark sleep , a sleep so
stubborn , so shut off from the world , that the wings of dream will come to beat in
vain . I am going to sleep . . . Wait only until I find , for the soles of my feet that are
...
Surely , until tomorrow , I will sink into the depths of a dark sleep , a sleep so
stubborn , so shut off from the world , that the wings of dream will come to beat in
vain . I am going to sleep . . . Wait only until I find , for the soles of my feet that are
...
Page 107
All my body yields itself up to sleep , relaxed , and my neck weighs heavily on
your gentle shoulder ; but our thoughts unite in love discreetly across this blue
dawn , so soon increasing . In a short while the luminous bar between the
curtains ...
All my body yields itself up to sleep , relaxed , and my neck weighs heavily on
your gentle shoulder ; but our thoughts unite in love discreetly across this blue
dawn , so soon increasing . In a short while the luminous bar between the
curtains ...
Page 279
In half sleep the faces of Billie , Maxine and Delia blended in her mind . Letty slid
her hand along the soft nylon of her gown to rest it between her full thighs . She
pressed firmly , as if holding desire inside herself . Letty could have loved her ...
In half sleep the faces of Billie , Maxine and Delia blended in her mind . Letty slid
her hand along the soft nylon of her gown to rest it between her full thighs . She
pressed firmly , as if holding desire inside herself . Letty could have loved her ...
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The Penguin book of lesbian short stories
User Review - Not Available - Book VerdictIn the last half-dozen years, collections of lesbian plays, coming-out stories, mysteries, and poetry have been published, mostly by small presses. Now, The Penguin Book of Lesbian Short Stories ... Read full review
Contents
ISAK DINESEN The Blank Page 1957 117 | 1 |
SARAH ORNE JEWETT Marthas Lady 1897 I | 20 |
The Wise Sappho c 191618 | 26 |
Copyright | |
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