[kimmy]

Hi, I run a lesbian book club and we are looking for suggestions of fiction/bio-fiction by lesbian authors from outside Canada and the US... PLEASE, tell us about any suggestions you have! We'd really appreciate it.

[Macdonald]

[kimmy]

[mollyig]

Emma Donoghue's "Hood" set in Dublin, Ireland and a great read.

[Macdonald]

i promise we haven't exhausted the north american writers. we've read lots of asian canadian, black american, caribbean canadian, hispanic american writers and so on. we just happen to like a lot of diversity and are hoping to find lesbian authors from africa, asia, the middle east, eastern europe, etc. - especially those that are less well-known. your suggestions are much appreciated!
p.s. i love little sister's bookstore![/quote]

Hey, Kimmy.
If you find African lesbian writers, or writers from the Middle East - make sure to tell me! Meanwhile, cheers to your pursuit of non-WASP writers. I think cultural diversity in our community is absolutely critical. The range of perspectives and experiences hasn't yet opened up from some parts of the world, and it will be utterly fascinating to watch happen! Too bad that, in many of these places, to be a lesbian (or gay) is already a death sentence for people. How are they going to have a thriving literature until they negotiate women's rights for a start? My guess is that in many of these places there are NO lesbian novels at all, not even secret ones.
That said, Eastern Europe is now beginning to make those changes, and Russia, and to some extent China. Keep your eyes on Poland, Rumania, Russia, the Baltics, etc... These places have such a rich literary heritage, from what we've seen, although what we've seen is nearly exclusively male dominated and only as subversive as "artistic movements" will allow. I think of the wonderful gay Polish writer Witold Gombrowicz, and I am sure that he has female contemporaries.
This is truly something worth waiting for - literally a world of ideas and perspectives we can't even dream of.
Glad you like LS! It's my life, and the lives of lots of others!
Cheers.
Mark.

[skraame]

Hi there!

In Norway we have this fabulous writer: Gerd Brantenberg. She writes lesbian fiction. I think (but I am not sure) that her biggest international hit was "Egalia's daughters: A Satire of The Sexes) which was first published in the seventies.

Best regards,
Børge

[loverboy]

[kimmy]

hi - the lesbian book club now has an excellent list of books with diverse authors and will keep us reading for a good long time. i thought i would share the list with others.
happy reading!
Aidoo, Ama Ata [Ghana]. Our Sister Killjoy. 1977
Allison, Dorothy [US]. Cavedweller 1998
Anshaw, Carol [US]. Lucky in the Corner 2002
Awakotuku, Ngahuia Te [New Zealand]. Tahuri 1993
Barnes, Djuna [US]. Nightwood 1937
Bledsoe, Lucy Jane [US]. This Wild Silence 2003
Boyd, Blanche McCrary [US]. Revolution of Little Girls 1992
Bradley, Marion Zimmer [US]. Thendara House 1983
Brand, Dionne [Trinidad, now Canada]. In Another Place, Not Here 1996
Brant, Beth [First Nations Canadian]. Mohawk Trail 1992
Brantenberg, Gerd [Norway]. Egalia's Daughters 1995
Breedlove, Lynn [US]. Godspeed 2002
Brossard, Nicole [French Canadian]. Mauve Desert 1987
Brown, Rebecca [US]. Gifts of the Body 1994
Brown, Rita Mae [US]. Rubyfruit Jungle 1983
Brownrigg, Sylvia [US]. Pages for You 2001
Calderón, Sara Levi [Mexico]. The Two Mujeres 1990
Chughtai, Ismat [India]. The Quilt & Other Stories 1994
Cliff, Michelle [Jamaica, US]. Abeng 1995
Donnelly, Nisa [US]. The Bar Stories: A Novel after All 1989
Donoghue, Emma [Ireland, now Canada]. Hood 1995
Dykewomon, Elana [US, Puerto Rico]. Beyond the Pale 1997
D'Erasmo, Stacey [US]. Tea 2000
Fischer, Erica [Germany]. Aimée & Jaguar: A Love Story, Berlin 1943 1995
Forrest, Katherine V [US]. Curious Wine 1990
Galford, Ellen [UK]. The Fires of Bride 1988
Gibb, Camilla [England, now Canada]. The Petty Details of So-and-so’s Life 2003
Gomez, Jewelle [African American]. Gilda Stories 1991
Green, Allison [US]. Half-Moon Scar 2000
Griffith, Nicola [England, now US]. Ammonite 1993
Grilikhes, Alexandra [US]. Yin Fire 2002
Gunthorp, Dale [South Africa]. Georgiana's Closet 2001
Hagedorn, Jessica Tarahata [Philippines]. Dogeaters 1990
Hall, Radclyffe [Holland]. The Well of Loneliness 1982
Helms, Kristie [US]. Dish it up, Baby! 2003
Humphreys, Helen [Canada]. The Lost Garden 2002
Kobayashi, Tamai [Japanese Canadian]. Exile and the Heart 1998
Kwa, Lydia [Singapore, now Canada]. This Place Called Absence 2002
Lai, Larissa [Chinese Canadian]. Salt Fish Girl 2002
Leduc, Violette [France]. La Batarde 2003
LeGuin, Ursula K. [US]. The Left Hand of Darkness 1969
Lorde, Audre [African American]. Zami: A New Spelling of my Name 1982
Luke, Pearl [Canada]. Burning Ground 2001
MacDonald, Ann-Marie [Canada]. Fall on Your Knees 1996
Maraini, Dacia [Italy]. Letters to Marina. 1988
Marchessault, Jovette. [First Nations/French Canadian]. Like a Child of the Earth 1988
Martinac, Paula [US]. Out Of Time 1990
Mayr, Suzette [Canada]. Moon Honey 1996
Millett, Kate [US]. Sita 1977
Min, Anchee [China now U.S.]. Red Azalea 1995
Molloy, Sylvia [Argentina]. Certificate of Absence 1989
Mootoo, Shani [Ireland, Trinidad, now Canada]. Cereus Blooms at Night 1998
Namjoshi, Suniti [India]. Feminist Fables, 2d ed. 1990
Obejas, Achy [Cuba, now US]. Days of Awe 2001
Patchett, Ann [US]. The Magician’s Assistant 1998
Porter, Dorothy [Australia]. The Monkey’s Mask 1997
Rifaat, Alifa [Egypt]. Distant View of a Minaret (collection of stories) 1987 *Not lesbian as such but nonetheless Cairo seen through her lesbian eyes.
Rodriquez, Nice [Philippines]. Throw It To the River 2000
Rule, Jane [US]. Memory Board 1987
Silvera, Makeda [Jamaica/Canada]. Her Head a Village 1994
Smith, Ali [UK]. Hotel World 2001
Smith, Virginia [UK]. The Ropemaker’s Daughter 2002
Stein, Gertrude [US]. The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas 1990
Tea, Michelle. [US]. The Chelsea Whistle 2002
Tulchinsky, Karen X [Canada]. Love Ruins Everything. 1998
Wadsworth, Ann [US]. Light, Coming Back 2002
Waters, Sarah [England]. Fingersmith 2002
Winterson, Jeanette [England]. The Powerbook 2000
Woodrow, Marnie [Canada]. Spelling Mississippi 2002
Woolf, Virginia [England). Orlando 1928
Youngblood, Shay [African American]. Soul Kiss 1995
Yourcenar, Marguerite [Belgium]. Dreams and Destinies 1999

Title that are out of print (but may not always be…)

Blais, Marie-Claire [French Canadian]. Les Nuits de l'Underground (Nights in the Underground: An Exploration of Love) 1978
Cameron, Anne [Canada]. The Journey 1982
Carr, Jan [US]. Harem Wish 1995
De, Shobha [India]. Strange Obsession. l992
Feinberg, Leslie [US]. Stone Butch Blues 1993
Grossman, Patricia [US]. Unexpected Child 2000
Higgs, Kerryn [Australia]. All That False Instruction 1975 *(originally published under the pseudonym Elizabeth Riley)
Highsmith, Patricia [US]. The Price of Salt 1991
Katz, Judith [Jewish American]. Running Fiercely Toward a High Thin Sound 1992
Lopez, Erika [Puerto Rico, US]. Hoochie Mama: The Other White Meat 2001
Miller, Isabel [US]. Patience and Sarah 1972
Taylor, Sheila Ortiz [US]. Faultline 1982
Tusquets, Esther [Catalonia]. The Same Sea As Every Summer 1990
Wittig, Monique [France]. The Lesbian Body 2002
Woodson, Jacqueline [African American]. Autobiography of a Family Photo 1996

[Galatea]

Oh, do add Radclyffe Hall's The Unlit Lamp. Not too much reading between the lines required.

[amicus]

I just finished reading Rita Mae Brown's "Rubyfruit Jungle" and I think it is hilariuos. I would recommend it to everyone.

[moonda]

[Janet S-]

Kimmy,

You put Leslie Feinberg's 'Stone Butch Blues' on your out-of-print list mistakenly. It was reprinted in November 2003 (with new afterward for the tenth anniversary of it's original publication) and is still available. I know this as the lesbian book club I attend read it for the month of April this year. An enjoyable book.

Janet S-