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. |
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Page 38
They were quite gay , they were quite regular , they were learning little things ,
gay little things , they were gay inside them and the same amount they had been
gay , they were gay the same length of time they had been gay every day .
They were quite gay , they were quite regular , they were learning little things ,
gay little things , they were gay inside them and the same amount they had been
gay , they were gay the same length of time they had been gay every day .
Page 82
It brought buried things to light and made one wonder what need there had been
to bury them . Awkward though she was and without the unconscious bearing of
long descent which makes the least turn of the pen of a Thackeray or a Lamb ...
It brought buried things to light and made one wonder what need there had been
to bury them . Awkward though she was and without the unconscious bearing of
long descent which makes the least turn of the pen of a Thackeray or a Lamb ...
Page 369
Boys would only make you do things you don ' t know how to do and things you '
d never want to do if you knew what they were . I know , ' . she says . ' I know
plenty about boys . ' She is everything to me . She is not my mother , though I
have ...
Boys would only make you do things you don ' t know how to do and things you '
d never want to do if you knew what they were . I know , ' . she says . ' I know
plenty about boys . ' She is everything to me . She is not my mother , though I
have ...
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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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