Legacies of Lesbian Literature Project

Those of you who attended the Golden Crown Literary Society conference last year may have attended a presentation done by Sandra Moran and Marianne K. Martin about a project they were starting. Many of us have realized that some of our heritage is beginning to disappear and it needs to be preserved so that people, not just lesbians, will know how our literature has developed and the women who have played a part in it. Marianne and Sandra came up with a project to do something about this......and then we lost Sandra. Fortunately, Sandra's wife, Cheryl Pletcher, has stepped forward and is determined to finish this as part of Sandra's legacy.

This is going to be no small undertaking, folks. It's not just a matter of writing a paper or making a PowerPoint. The plan is to do video interviews of some of our pioneers while they're still here to tell us our history. Marianne has already started with these and the list includes Dorothy Allison, Ann Bannon, Rita Mae Brown, Emma Donoghue, Rita Mae Brown, Katherine V. Forrest, Jewell Gomez, Jenifer Levin, Lee Lynch, Alice Walker and Jeanette Winterson. Others will be added as the project progresses. They intend to produce a documentary and DVDs so that this information can be stored and shared with people for years to come (assuming we don't blow the world up first.)

I've uploaded a picture of the project logo, designed by Ann McMan. It's really striking.

They need help. Eventually, they're going to need people to help them with script writing, research, production, editing, graphics, promotion, distribution....you name it and they'll be asking for people who can participate. What can you do right now?

All of the royalties from Sandra's books are going to fund the project, but more is needed. You can make a contribution by going to https://www.crowdrise.com/legacies-of-lesbian-literature-project. Contributions aren't tax deductible yet, but they're working on getting that status filed. The site only takes credit cards at the moment, but they're going to work on getting a PayPal link. Cheryl says, if you don't want to donate online, you can send donations to her at 9951 Fountain Circle, Lenexa, KS 66220.

You can also friend the project on Facebook at www.facebook.com/LegLesLit. You can link to the site so that other people will see it and you will receive updates about how the project is progressing.

Maybe it's the history teacher in me, but I was excited about this project when I heard about it last year. I'm impressed with how far they've gotten already in the planning and will be giving them some of my time. A lot of my time if you listen to Marianne.

If you want to contact them, their email addresses are mkmbywater@aol.com or cpletcher54@gmail.com.

They will be happy to have the smallest contribution, time or whatever you can do to support the project. This is OUR history and literature. I hope some of you will be inclined to help in some way.

Lynne  

Interview of Sandra Moran on "It's Our Community"

I just finished listening to Sandra Moran's interview on It's Our Community.   If you haven't listened to it, you can find it on You Tube at
It's Our Community - Sandra Moran

			It's Our Community - Sandra Moran Sandra Moran: JCCC Anthropology Instructor. Author of "Letters Never Sent".
			View on m.youtube.com	Preview by Yahoo

Or apparently you can click on this notice since it popped in when I listed the address.  That was a surprise.

I know many of you have read Letters Never Sent and I've just bought it.  Funny, I gave it to a friend for Christmas and didn't get a copy for myself.

Anyway, it's a good interview, but I have a bone to pick with it.  The interviewer and Sandra were talking about books not being pigeon-holed and not wanting to label her book "lesbian" and lose readers.  I agree whole heartedly with that.  In the days when publishers used to label books "lesbian," I argued against that for several reasons.  A good book should be read because it's a good book.  It shouldn't lose readers because of a category.  As I said, I haven't read the book yet, but a lot of you have and have commented on it, so I expect it to be excellent.

The interviewer made the comment though that lesbian publishers aren't needed.  Sandra then said that she hoped the day would come when lesbian literature would be accepted as literature and that alone.  I agree with that, too, but I wish she had made a comment about the publishers.  Some of our publishers haven't done as good a job as others, but we owe them all a debt of gratitude and I think we need to remember that and celebrate it.

I never prowled book counters looking for paperback books in the days of Ann Bannon or Patricia Highsmith.  I'm old enough, but the lights went on later for me, so I missed that experience.  I do remember finding Naiad though and getting the catalog through the mail in its plain brown envelope.  I would pour over the list and order books that came in plain wrappers.  Then I discovered other companies and got their books, too.  Bookstores around my area, the ones that are left, still don't carry lesbian literature except in a very limited version, so I've always had to depend on the publishers.  I have thousands of lesbian books now and I don't think I bought more than a dozen or so of them in a bookstore.  That includes making sure I made a trip to Lambda Rising every time I went near Washington, DC.

I know many authors are now self-publishing and that's fine as long as they do a good job.  A lot of what I see on Amazon looks like junk, but that's my opinion and people are entitled to read what they want.  However, we shouldn't ever forget what the publishers have done and will do for us.  They provided books when no one else would or could.  I suspect they will be needed in the future just as much.  There will be certain types of books (yes, I guess I'm thinking about erotica mainly) that some will want to read that mainstream companies may not be as interested in publishing.  They also still act as a wonderful training place for new authors IF they do their job properly.

I think the interviewer on the show was being very naive to say that we don't need lesbian publishers, for good books or any others.  I'd certainly hate to see that come true.