The Lesbian In Literature, 1967-1981

Cover, The Lesbian in Literature, 3rd Edition, 1981

A Guide to Lesbian History References

Republished with the permission of Barbara Grier

History of "The Lesbian In Literature

In 1981, Barbara Grier published the third edition of the extremely influential The Lesbian in Literature. Maida Tilchen's foreword to the third edition gives a comprehensive overview of the history of The Lesbian In Literature."

The Lesbian in Literature's history is typical of so much of lesbian culture. Although it was primarily compiled by one incredible woman, Barbara Grier, hundreds of women contributed information for it.

It began as an outgrowth of The Ladder, the lesbian magazine published from 1956 to 1972. Barbara Grier had been collecting information on lesbian writing for many years.

In 1958, Marion Zimmer Bradley (now a well known science fiction writer) compiled two brief booklists, entitled "Astra's Tower Special Leaflets #2 and #3." In 1960, Bradley and Barbara Grier, who was using the pseudonym "Gene Damon," issued a hand-typed, mimeographed bibliography called "The Checklist," followed by supplements in 1961 and 1962.

In 1967, The Ladder published the first edition of The Lesbian in Literature, by Gene Damon and Lee Stuart. It included about three thousand books published through 1965.

Meanwhile, Barbara

had been writing a regular column for The Ladder called "Lesbiana," in which she briefly discussed new books by writers known to be lesbians or having some relevance to lesbianism. Ladder readers from all over the

world sent her information for the column.

In 1975, the Second Edition.

an updated version of the bibliography, was issued. The authors were Gene

Damon, Jan Watson, and Robin Jordan.

I can remember how enthusiastically

the upcoming publication of this second edition was discussed at the 1975 Lesbian Writers' Conference in Chicago. Every woman there knew how useful The Lesbian in Literature would be, whether they used it primarily as readers, writers, book collectors, bibliographers, biographers,

archivists, historians, researchers, or librarians.

Third edition texts

Explore the 3rd edition texts of The Lesbian in Literature in the orginal format. These PDFs are searchable to help your browsing.

The Lesbian In Literature, 3rd edition, pages 1-9

Abbott, Keith - Baudelaire, Charles.

The Lesbian In Literature, 3rd edition, pages 10-19

Bazin, Nancy Topping - Brooks, Romaine.

Codes in the Bibliography

In order to increase the research value of the bibliography, the authors of The Lesbian in Literature used a code to show varying amounts of the lesbian related content and genre of book. The following explanation of the code is excerpted from the introduction to the second edition (reprinted in the third edition).

A - This symbol, A, following an entry indicates major Lesbian characters and/or action.

B - This symbol, B, following an entry indicates minor Lesbian characters and/or action.

C - This symbol, C, following an entry indicates latent, repressed

Lesbianism or characters who can be so interpreted. This type

of behavior is properly termed "variant" behavior.

T - This symbol, T, following an entry indicates that regardless of the quantity of Lesbian action or characters involved in the book, the quality is essentially poor. The "T" is for "trash."

Asterisks

To aid those interested in finding Lesbian material of the best quality, we have adopted an asterisk coding system. The use of a single asterisk, *, indicates some interest beyond the ordinary. The use of two asterisks, **, indicates very substantial quality of Lesbian material, and the use of three asterisks, *** , indicates those few titles that stand out above all the rest and must properly belong in any collection of Lesbian literature. The asterisk system, in itself, has nothing to do with the "literary" quality of the material, only with the quality of the Lesbian material in the work in question...

Abbreviations

Standard abbreviations are used throughout. Following is a list of some of the abbreviations which might not be in general usage:

pbo - paperback original title. A book that has not first appeared in hardback. The addition of "q" indicates the so-called quality paperback original, usually higher in price.

pbr - paperback reprint title

tct - title changed to

s.s - short story

s.n. - short novel (or novella)

(p) - poetry. Used to designate entire collections and also to indicate individual poems in a collection.

(d) - drama

(biog) - biography

(auto) - autobiography

Full Bibliography from The Lesbian in Literature, 3rd Edition, 1981

Abbott, Keith. RHINO RITZ: An American Mystery. Berkeley, Blue Wind Press, 1979. B*

Abbott, Sidney and Barbara Love. SAPPHO WAS A RIGHT ON WOMAN. N.Y., Stein & Day, 1972 (hardcover and paperback); pbr , Day Books (Stein & Day), 1978. (auto) (biog) A***

Abby, Alain. LIBIDO BEACH. pbo, Avon, 1962. A*

Abrams, Linsey. CHARTING BY THE STARS. N.Y., Harmony, Crown, 1979. A* (B?)

Ackworth, Robert C. THE MOMENTS BETWEEN. pbo, Hillman, 1959. B"

Acosta, Mercedes de. HERE LIES THE HEART. N.Y., Reynal, 1960; hcr , N.Y., Arno Press, 1975. (auto) ABC * *

_____.ARCHWAYS OF LIFE. N.Y., Moffat & Yard, 1921. (p) A** C**

_____. STREETS AND SHADOWS. NY. , Moffat & Yard, 1922. (p) B C*

_____. UNTIL THE DAY BREAK. N.Y., Longmans, Green & Co., 1928; London, Longmans, Green & Co., 1929. B* * C*

Acton, Harold. NANCY MITFORD. London, Hamish Hamilton, 1976. (biog) B**

Adair, Nancy and Casey. WORD IS OUT (Stories of Some of Our Lives). San Francisco, New Glide Publications, 1978; NY. , Dell, 1978. A*** (Collection of Lesbian and gay male life portraits.)

Adams, Alice. SNOW. s.s. in The New Yorker, December 12, 1979, pp. 32· 37. A*

Adams, Fay. APPOINTMENT IN PARIS. pbo, Fawcett , 1952. A*

Adams, Jane. SEX AND THE SINGLE PARENT. N.Y., Coward, 1978. (auto) B

Adler, Warren. BLOOD TIES. NY. , Putnam, May, 1979. *

Adlington, Richard. THE LOVE OF MYRRHINE AND KONALLIS. Chicago, Pascal Covici, 1926. (p) A*

Aickman, Robert. THE LATE BREAKFASTERS. London, Gollancz, 1964. A C*

Akin, Katy. IMPASSIONED COWS BY MOONLIGHT. Brooklyn, Hanging Loose Press, 1975. (p) A**

Albert, Mimi. THE SECOND STORY MAN: A Novel. Brooklyn, Fiction Collective, 1975. B* (A?)

Albertson, Chris. BESSIE. NY. , Stein & Day, 1972 (hardcover and paperback). (biog) A** "(Life of Black blues singer Bessie Smith. Also gives the lyrics to some of her Lesbian songs.)

Alciphron. LETTERS FROM TOWN AND COUNTRY London Routledge, n.d. B

Alciphron et al., edited by E. H. Warmington LETTERS: Alciphron, Aedian, Philostratus Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press n. d B

Alcott , Louisa May. WORK: A Story of Experienence. Boston, Roberts Bros., 1873, 1875; N.Y., Scholarly, 1976. B*** *

Aldrich, Ann. CAROL IN A THOUSAND CITIES pbo Fawcett Gold Medal, 1960, et al. A**

_____. TAKE A LESBIAN TO LUNCH. pbo, Macfadden-Bartell, 1971 ***

_____. WE, TOO, MUST LOVE. pbo Fawcett Gold Medal 1958, 1963. A* *

_____. WE TWO WON’T LAST. pbo, Fawcett Gold Medal 1963. A* *

_____. WE WALK ALONE. pbo, Fawcett Gold Medal, 1955, et al. A*

Aldridge: Sarah. ALL TRUE LOVERS. qpbo, Weatherby Lake Mo Naiad Press, 1979. A***

_____. CYTHEREA’S BREATH. qpbo, Reno, Nev., Naiad Press 1976, qpbr, Tallahassee, Fla., Naiad Press, 1980. A***

_____. THE LATECOMER. qpbo * Reno, Nev., Naiad Press, , qpbr, Weatherby Lake, Mo., Naiad Press, 1979. A***

_____. TOTTIE. qpbo, Reno, Nev., Naiad Press, 1975* qpbr Talahassee, Fla., Naiad Press, 1980. A** . I

Alexander, David. THE MADHOUSE IN WASHINGTON SQUARE Philadelphia, Lippincott, 1958. C

Alger, William Rounseville, THE FRIENDSHIP OF WOMEN. Boston, Roberts Bros., 1868. C* (Non-fiction; many pairs of romantic friends.)

Allen, Charlotte Vale. ACTS OF LOVE. pbo, Signet, 1979. B

_____. LOVE LIFE. N.Y., Delacorte, 1975. B*

_____. SWEETER MUSIC. pbo, Warner, 1976. B

Allen, Paula Gunn. COYOTE’S DAYLIGHT TRIP Albuquerque, N.M., La Confluencia, 1978. (p) B

Allison, Gay, Karen Hood, and Janis Rappoport, eds. LANDSCAPE Toronto, Women*s Writing Collective, 1977. (poetry anthology) A* B*

Alpers, Anthony. THE LIFE OF KATHERINE MANSFIELD. NY Viking, 1980. (biog) A**

Alsop, Susan Mary. LADY SACKVILLE: A Biography. Garden City, N.Y., Doubleday, 1978. (biog) B*

Alta. BURN THIS AND MEMORIZE YOURSELF. Port Murray, NJ., Times Change Press, 1971. (p) B

_____. FREEDOM’S IN SIGHT. Berkeley, Shameless Hussy Press, 1971. (p) B

_____. I AM NOT A PRACTICING ANGEL. Trumansburg, N.Y., Crossing Press, 1975. (p) B*

_____. LETTERS TO WOMEN. Berkeley, Shameless Hussy Press, 1971. (p) B*

_____. MOMMA: A Start on All the Untold Stories. N.Y., Times Change Press, 1975. (auto) B

_____. NO VISIBLE MEANS OF SUPPORT. qpbo, San Lorenzo, Calif., Shameless Hussy Press, 1971. (p) B*

_____. POEMS AND PROSE. Pittsburgh, Know, 1972. (p) B

Alther, Lisa. KINFLICKS. N.Y., Knopf, 1976. A B

Amis, Kingsley. THE GREEN MAN. London, Jonathan Cape, and N.Y.,

Harcourt Brace & World, 1969; pbr, Ballantine, 1971. B** (A?)

_____. TAKE A GIRL LIKE YOU. N.Y., Harcourt, 1961; pbr, Signet, 1963, 1970; pbr, Penguin, 1976. B

Anderson, Edna and Helen Nonam. STRANGE AFFECTION. London, Villiers, 1961. A C*

Anderson, Helen. PITY FOR WOMEN. Garden City, N.Y., Doubleday, 1937. A B**

Anderson, Margaret C. THE FIERY FOUNTAINS. N.Y., Hermitage House, 1951; N.Y., Horizon Press, 1970.. (auto) A C**

_____. MY THIRTY YEARS’ WAR. N.Y., Covici, 1930; N.Y., Horizon Press, 1969, 1970. (auto) C**

_____. THE STRANGE NECESSITY. N.Y., Horizon Press, 1969, 1970. (auto) A**•

Anderson, Poul. VIRGIN PLANET. N.Y., Bouregy, 1959; pbr, Beacon, 1960; pbr , Paperback Library, 1970; N.Y., Warner Books, 1973. B

Anderson, Sherwood. BEYOND DESIRE. N.Y., Liveright, 1932, 1960, 1970. A*

_____. DARK LAUGHTER. N.Y., Boni & Liveright, 1925; pbr, Pocket Books, 1952; pbr, Liveright, 1970. B

_____. POOR WHITE. N.Y., B.W. Huebsch, 1920; N.Y., Modern Library, 1925; pbr in The Portable Sherwood Anderson, Viking, 1949,1956; qpbr, Viking (Compass Books), 1966. B *

Anderson-Imbert, Enrique. A TASTE OF LIPSTICK. s.s. in The Other Side of the Mirror, Carbondale, Southern Illinois University Press, 1966. A