Synopses & Reviews
The first comprehensive biographical, critical, and bibliographical source on lesbian writers, this reference book features essays on 100 contemporary writers of poetry, fiction, and drama in the United States. Many had written as self-identified lesbians at some point during the 1970-1992 period of coverage. Each essay comprises a biography, with personal history often derived from interviews, an analysis of major works and themes, an overview of the critical reception, and bibliographies of primary works and of critical studies and reviews. The volume introduction, by Tucker P. Farley, situates contemporary lesbian literature in its historical and political contexts. Appendices list publishers of lesbian writers and periodicals featuring lesbian writing. An extensive bibliography provides nonfiction resources focusing on lesbian issues, including works in psychology, sexuality, parenting, health, history, and theory, as well as literature.
A companion to Contemporary Gay American Novelists: A Bio-Bibliographical Critical Sourcebook, edited by Emmanuel S. Nelson (Greenwood Press, 1993), this work will be an important addition to college and university libraries supporting gay and lesbian and women's studies programs and literary curricula incorporating this material. It will also be a valuable resource for public and school libraries and collections and specialists in American literature, providing information and analysis for understanding the expanding literary canon.
Review
. . . Indeed, this volume on lesbian writers surely must be counted among the best of the recent spate of reference works in lesbian and gay studies. Covering one hundred authors ``who, at some point during the 1970-1992 period, had written as self-identified lesbians, this volume is particularly strong in its representation of fiction, poetry, and drama in a wide variety of voices, including many essays on Asian, Black, Chicana, Latina, and Native writers, both prominent and newly emerging.Feminist Collections
Review
A tribute to those lesbian writers who have either gone before or are still writing. It also stands as an incentive for those who are just starting. Many of the essayists are themselves published lesbian or feminist writers. This is recommended for academic and public libraries, women's resource centers, and other special libraries.Library Journal
Review
Contemporary Lesbian Writers of the United States definitely fills ``an existing gap in American literary and cultural studies, as the editors intend. . . . the editors and contributors have done an admirable job of uncovering information on writers who are less well known. Recommended for academic and large public libraries.RBB/Booklist
Review
...Readers seeking information on lesser-known lesbian writers or information about well-known writers from a lesbian view-point will welcome this sourcebook. In it are profiles of 100 writers of poetry, fiction, and drama. This is a valuable contribution to the growing field of gay and lesbian studies.Reference Sources
Review
. . . Indeed, this volume on lesbian writers surely must be counted among the best of the recent spate of reference works in lesbian and gay studies. Covering one hundred authors ``who, at some point during the 1970-1992 period, had written as self-identified lesbians, this volume is particularly strong in its representation of fiction, poetry, and drama in a wide variety of voices, including many essays on Asian, Black, Chicana, Latina, and Native writers, both prominent and newly emerging.Feminist Collections
Review
In addition to being an engaging and handy reference book, Contemporary Lesbian Writers of the United States does something very important. It gives attention to fine writers, many of whom have not received the acclaim they deserve outside and even within the lesbian community.Outlines
Synopsis
The first comprehensive biographical, critical, and bibliographical source on lesbian writers, this reference book features essays on 100 contemporary writers of poetry, fiction, and drama in the United States. All had written as self-identified lesbians at some point during the 1970-1992 period. Each essay comprises a biography, with personal history often derived from interviews, an analysis of major works and themes, an overview of the critical reception, and bibliographies of primary works and of critical studies. The volume introduction situates contemporary lesbian literature in its historical and political contexts. Appendices list publishers of lesbian writers and periodicals featuring lesbian writers. An extensive bibliography provides nonfiction resources focusing on lesbian issues.
Synopsis
"Greenwood's bibligraphical sourcebooks are useful to map work in new and important fields of scholarship....An invaluable foundation for the study of contemporary lesbian and gay literature in the U.S. Knowledgeable contributors provide highly readable essays covering 100 authors, both prominent and newly emerging. Highly recommended!" Choice
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. [595]-603) and index.
About the Author
DENISE D. KNIGHT is Assistant Professor of English at State University of New York College at Cortland, specializing in nineteenth-century American literature and women writers. She is the editor of a critical collection of stories by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and of a critical edition of Gilman's diaries. Her articles have appeared in Women's Studies and ANQ: A Quarterly Journal of Short Articles, Notes, and Reviews.
Table of Contents
Preface
Introduction
Donna Allegra
Paula Gunn Allen
Dorothy Allison
Gloria E. Anzaldua
Nuala Archer
June Arnold
Judith Barrington
Terry Baum
Robin Becker
Becky Birtha
Julie Blackwomon
Alice Bloch
Sdiane Adams Bogus
Sandy Boucher
Blanche McCrary Boyd
Maureen Brady
Beth Brant
Olga Broumas
Rita Mae Brown
Pat Califia
Jane Chambers
Chrystos
Cheryl Clarke
Jan Clausen
Michelle Cliff
Clare Coss
Martha Courtot
Doris Davenport
Nancy Dean
Jacqueline de Angelis
Terri de la Pena
Alexis DeVeaux
Rachel Guido DeVries
Sarah Anne Dreher
Elana Dykewomon
Katherine V. Forrest
Suzanne Gardinier
Sally Miller Gearhart
Jewelle L. Gomez
Melinda Goodman
Janice Gould
Camarin Grae
Judy Grahn
Susan Griffin
Rosa (Cuthbert) Guy
Marilyn Hacker
Eloise Klein Healy
Terri L. Jewell
Melanie Kaye/Kantrowitz
Willyce Kim
Irena Klepfisz
Lola Lai Jong
Jacqueline Lapidus
Joan Larkin
Andrea Freud Loewenstein
Audre Lorde
Lee Lynch
Paula Martinac
Vicki P. McConnell
Judith McDaniel
Isabel Miller
Kate Millett
Valerie Miner
Honor Moore
Cherrie Moraga
Robin Morgan
Eileen Myles
Joan Nestle
Leslea Newman
Elisabeth Nonas
Karen Lee Osborne
Pat Parker
Minnie Bruce Pratt
Margaret Randall
Adrienne Rich
Ruthann Robson
Aleida Rodriguez
Mariana Romo-Carmona
Muriel Rukeyser
Jane Rule
Kate Rushin
Joanna Russ
Barbara Ruth
Canyon Sam
Sapphire
May Sarton
Sarah Schulman
Patricia Roth Schwartz
Sandra Scoppettone
Susan Sherman
Sheila Ortiz Taylor
Nancy Toder
Kitty Tsui
Luz Maria Umpierre-Herrera
Chea Villanueva
Jess Wells
Barbara Wilson
Mary Wings
Terry Wolverton
Jacqueline Woodson
Bibliography
Appendices
Index
Notes