#lesbian literature | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

gatheringbones · 10 months

Text

judy grahn, from another mother tongue: gay words, gay worlds, 1984

#judy grahn #lesbian literature #currently reading #transcribe later #horror! horror! horror!

18K notes · View notes

dollhousefemme · 5 months

Text

Mrs. S by K. Patrick

#lesbian #lesbian literature #butch lesbian #lesbian books #lgbt books #butch main character #dyke #k patrick #mrs s

4K notes · View notes

homo-ousios · 3 months

Text

Dear Tumblr, come read about ancient lesbians! This is a free anthology of Ancient Greek and Latin works by/about wlw (translated into English), and it’s the first sourcebook specifically dedicated to wlw!

The translations and commentaries are done by queer scholars, but it’s inclusive toward a non-scholarly audience. And the project director hopes that “new creations, texts, films, video, may emerge […] and contribute to forging a new LGBTQI+ mythology that would - finally - not be based on shortcuts and reductive views about women in ancient society” (issue 1 p. 6).

So please come check it out and then make a bunch of art or stories about it (and show us!)

#classics #wlw #lesbian literature #lesbians #sappho #literally lol #lgbtqia #ancient lgbt #🏳️‍🌈#🏳️‍⚧️

878 notes · View notes

leatherlesbianstuff · 3 months

Text

Love Poem to a Butch Woman (2005) By Deborah A. Miranda This is how it is with me: so strong, I want to draw the egg from your womb and nourish it in my own. I want to mother your child made only of us, of me, you: no borrowed seed from any man. I want to re-fashion the matrix of creation, make a human being from the human love that passes between our bodies. Sweetheart, this is how it is: when you emerge from the bedroom in a clean cotton shirt, sleeves pushed back over forearms, scented with cologne from an amber bottle—I want to open my heart, the brightest aching slit of my soul, receive your pearl. I watch your hands, wait for the sign that means you’ll touch me, open me, fill me; wait for that moment when your desire leaps inside me.

#not oc #i didnt write this #i just formatted it lol #butch lesbian #butch4femme #femme4butch #lesbian poetry #poems #sapphic love #sapphic yearning #lesbian #butch #lesbian literature

153 notes · View notes

soircieres · 2 years

Text

— Dorothy Bussy (née Strachey), Olivia (1949)

#olivia 1949 #olivia 1951 #dorothy strachey #dorothy bussy #lesbian literature #english literature #on love #fragments #excerpts

5K notes · View notes

fitz-higgins · 7 months

Text

LGBT literature of the 1860s–1910s. Part 5

After a long pause, the list is back! Here we have a couple of plays, accounts by two trans women, lesbian poetry, and more.

1. Despised and Rejected, by A.T. Fitzroy (Rose Allatini; 1918). A pacifist novel published during World War One? With gay and lesbian characters? Yes, that was sure to get people in trouble. Its publisher was fined and the judge called it “morally unhealthy and most pernicious”. So, Dennis is a young composer who hates violence and therefore refuses to go to war. He also suffers because he is a “musical man”, that is, gay, and loves Alan, art-loving son of a wealthy businessman. His friend Antoinette, meanwhile, is “strangely attracted” to a woman. Nevertheless, the two attempt to love each other. When the war begins, Alan appears in Dennis’ life again, and they try to avoid being sent to the front together. Alan also persuades Dennis to accept who he is. Edward Carpenter himself defended the novel, saying that “the book is also a plea for toleration of a very much misunderstood section of humanity”. Read online

2. Autobiography of an Androgyne, by Ralph Werther (1918). Ralph Werther, also known as Jennie June, wrote this autobiography for doctors, and it is very revealing. Being a New York fairy (male prostitute) and possibly a trans woman, they tell frankly about the city’s gay underworld of the early 20th century and their personal experience, which is sometimes too frank and dark perhaps, but all the more interesting. Read online

3. Poems by Mikhail Kuzmin. Kuzmin was not just the author of Russia’s first gay novel, but also a poet. Many of his works were dedicated to or mentioned his lovers. I’d recommend Where Will I Find Words (in English and Russian), Night Was Done (both in English and Russian), from the 1906-1907 collection Love of This Summer (available fully in Russian), mostly based on his love affair with Pavel Maslov in 1906. And also If They Say (in English and Russian), which is a great statement.

4. The Loom of Youth, by Alec Waugh (1917). A semi-biographical novel based on Evelyn Waugh’s older brother’s experience at Sherborne School in Dorset. It is a story of Gordon Caruthers’ school years, from the age of 13 to 19, and it is full of different stories typical for public schools, be it pranks and cheating exams or dorm life and sports. Although the homosexual subject was quite understated, the author implied that it was a tradition and open secret in public schools. The book became popular and soon caused a great scandal. Worth noting that before that Alec was expelled for flirting with a boy. Read online

5. Two Speak Together, by Amy Lowell (1919). Lowell was a famous American poet and lesbian. Many of her poems were dedicated to her lover, actress Ada Dwyer Russell, specifically the section Two Speak Together from Pictures of the Floating World. These poems are infused with flower imagery, which wasn’t uncommon for lesbian poetry of the time. Read online

6. De berg van licht/The Mountain of Light, by Louis Couperus (1905-1906). Couperus is called the Dutch Oscar Wilde for a reason: this is one of the first decadent novels in Dutch literature. It is also a historical one, telling about a young androgynous Syrian priest Heliogabalus who then becomes a Roman Emperor. Homoerotism, hedonism, aestheticism: Couperus creates a very vivid world of Ancient Rome. He also covered the topic of androgyny in his novel Noodlot, which was mentioned in Part 3 of this list. Read online in Dutch

7. Frühlings Erwachen/Spring Awakening/The Awakening of Spring, by Frank Wedekind (1891, first performed in 1906). This play criticized the sexually oppressive culture prevalent in Europe at the time through a collection of monologues and short scenes about several troubled teens. Each one of them struggles with their puberty, which often leads to a tragic end. Like in The Loom of Youth, homosexuality is not the central focus of the play, but one character, Hänschen, is homosexual and explores his sexuality through Shakespear and paintings. The play was later turned into a famous musical. Read online in German or in English

8. Twixt Earth and Stars, by Radclyffe Hall (1906). Though it wasn’t known to many at the time, these poems were dedicated to women, some to Hall’s actual lovers. Read online

9. The Secret Confessions of a Parisian: The Countess, 1850-1871, by Arthur Berloget (published in 1895). This account is similar to the Autobiography of an Androgyne, albeit shorter. The author nowadays is thought to be a trans woman. They describe their love for women’s dresses, the euphoria from wearing dresses, makeup and wigs, the life as a “female impersonator” in Parisian cafe-concerts, and their love affair with a fellow prisoner. The autobiography is not available online, but you can read it in Queer Lives: Men’s Autobiographies from Nineteenth-Century France by William Peniston and Nancy Erber.

10. At Saint Judas’s, by Henry Blake Fuller (1896). This is possibly the first American play about homosexuality. It is very short. An excited groom is waiting for his wedding ceremony in the company of his gloomy best man. They are former lovers, and this short scene is not going to end well… Read online

Previous part is here

#lgbt literature #lgbt fiction #queer history #queer fiction #lesbian literature #russian literature #gay literature #gay history #spring awakening #lesbian history #blog: history #blog: literature

259 notes · View notes

the-sappho-of-lesbos · 2 years

Text

Source: Dyke Strippers; Lesbian Cartoonists A to Z , edited by Roz Warren

#me trying to telepathically tell women I love them lol #d slur #lesbian history #lesbian positivity #lesbian literature #lesbian dating #image #lgbt #lesbian #art #personal

1K notes · View notes

butcharium · 4 months

Text

I want to share this story about coming home, and coming out, for Christmas, first published in 1981 by the Norwegian Lesbian author Gerd Brantenberg. It is sweet, optimistic, and filled with humor!

The author has written several short stories about the couple Anne and Anne, some of them have been published, and others have been read out to larger or smaller gatherings. Of the stories about this couple that I am familiar with, this must be my favourite.

It should be intelligible not only if you understand Norwegian, but also if you understand Swedish and/or Danish. If you don't know any of these languages know that in this case you're really missing out!

However I can also direct you to some of her more well known books, like "What comes naturally" (original title "opp alle jordens homofile") which is translated by Brantenberg herself, and follows a young woman growing into her lesbianism during the 60s. She has also written the humorous "Egalia's daughters" about an upside-down society where women are in power. While mostly a social satire about the world from which feminism (or here masculinism) rose, it also touches upon homosexuality as welll! (if you liked the french movie je ne suis un homme facil/i am not an easy man or for that matter the barbie movie, you might enjoy how this book takes the world building to a much greater extent)

I implore you to listen to this story, or at least check out this author, she is really worth a read!

#quotes #gerd brantenberg #lesbian #lesbian literature #musings #why didn't it want to share as an audio where you can just click play T.T

58 notes · View notes

tellme-o-muse · 7 months

Text

this isn’t about anyone in particular but I can’t stress this enough. Read lesbian literature. Read books about butches and femmes and written by butches and femmes! Read poems and plays and biographies and fictions!! Read OLD lesbian books!! Read about our history, our struggles and our solutions.

How can we live and thrive when so much misinformation goes around because no one reads the history books? It was a butch lesbian who started Stonewall Riots!! Butch lesbians and transmasc lesbians have been going on T since it was available!! There have been lesbians since the goddamn beginning of time and their stories are out there!! There is SO much to know and learn. Don’t know where to start? I can give recs and pdfs but I’m begging my fellow lesbians to research and read stories from past lesbians. Listen to older lesbians. Learn our history and feel a sense of home and connection to other lesbians when you see your struggles reflected in theirs. It’s one of the best things I did a year or so back and I don’t think you’ll regret it

#lesbian #books #lesbian literature #Butch #femme #butch lesbian #femme lesbian #lesbians

79 notes · View notes

the-modern-typewriter · 1 year

Note

Yo, I've seen your book rec posts on and off for a while, and I was wondering if you could (if you have time ^.^ if not, that's cool too) throw up a list of your favorite lgbt/neurodivergent/unique protagonist books? I don't think I've ever read a book outside of fanfiction where the lead/s weren't just some form of 'normal' or straight or whatever. Also, since you're one of my favorite authors I feel like I'd be more inclined to give one of them a go lol ^.^'

There are an increasing number of diverse books out there!

Here are some of my personal favourites in no particular order, by which I mean I have rated them 4 stars (I really liked it) or 5 stars (it was amazing) and then curated the list some more on top of that. E.g. I might have thought it was amazing at the time, but if I can't tell you anything that happened in the story years after reading it, it's not on the list. That doesn't mean it's not worth reading, just that I have a bad memory so if I remember it definitely did something right!)

You can find more books I've read on my Goodreads. There are books that fit what you've asked for on there, it just doesn't fit my personal curated favourites list!

LGBTQ books

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller (m/m)

If We Were Villains by M.L Rio (m/m)

Girls Made of Snow and Glass and Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust

Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand (f/f + ace)

In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado (f/f - non fiction)

Salt Slow by Julia Armfield (f/f)

Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin (m/m)

Nightwood by Djuna Barnes (f/f - though be warned, this is a weird one! Rated highly more because I can't get it out of my head than that I liked it)

Tipping the Velvet and Fingersmith by Sarah Waters (f/f)

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Peter Darling by Austin Chant (m/m, trans)

The Binding by Bridget Collins (m/m)

The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J Klune (m/m)

Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth (f/f)

The Greenhollow duology by Emily Tesh (m/m)

These Violent Delights by Micah Nemerever (m/m)

One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston (f/f)

(Obligatory read MY BOOK The God Key (m/m) here!) Obviously, this is my favourite ;)

Unique/Interesting protagonists:

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon

I Am Not A Serial Killer by Dan Wells

Middlegame by Seanan McGuire (Her Wayward Children series is also great and has a lot of LGBTQ rep!)

The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang (MC has Asperger's)

A Spindle Splintered by Alix.E. Harrow (terminally ill MC, also f/f)

Fugitive Pieces by Anne Michaels

House of Leaves by Mark.Z. Danielewski

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon (Autistic MC)

Disfigured: On Fairytales, Disability and Making Space by Amanda Leduc (nonfiction)

#books #book rec #book recs #read #reading #book recommendation #boom recommendations #lit #literature #lesbian literature #gay literature #lgbtq books

226 notes · View notes

sheiladelaney · 1 year

Photo

Patricia Highsmith, from The Price of Salt, 1952.

#*mine #patricia highsmith #the price of salt #novels #lgbt literature #typography #lesbian #lesbian literature

171 notes · View notes

taysvenus · 11 days

Text

24 notes · View notes

amanufacturedheaven · 21 days

Text

The First Vampire Was a Lesbian.

Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu

Source

23 notes · View notes

soircieres · 1 year

Text

‘Then Carol slipped her arm under her neck, and all the length of their bodies touched fitting as if something had prearranged it. Happiness was like a green vine spreading through her, stretching fine tendrils, bearing flowers through her flesh. She had a vision of a pale white flower, shimmering as if seen in darkness, or through water. Why did people talk of heaven, she wondered.’

Patricia Highsmith, The Price of Salt (1952) // Carol (2015), dir. Todd Haynes

#the price of salt #patricia highsmith #carol 2015 #caroledit #cate blanchett #Rooney Mara #belivaird #lesbian literature #lgbtq literature #1950s #carol aesthetic #fragments #exceprts

251 notes · View notes

rhinestonebabe · 4 months

Text

"We have all been thoroughly conditioned to think the adjectives male and masculine are interchangeable, as are female and feminine. This is a mental straightjacket under which not only lesbians but all of society suffers."

The butch-femme question, Rita Laporte

(The Persistent Desire: a butch-femme reader, pgs 208-9)

#lesbian #wlw #sapphic #butchfemme #the persistent desire #writing #lesbian literature #masculine #feminine

46 notes · View notes

celebrate-lesbianism · 6 months

Text

My dream is to have a beautiful gothic personal library full of lesbian literature. I want shelves and shelves of lesbian stories, history, poems, photography, magazines, etc. Rare and out of print stuff. Signed first editions. Books that have been annotated by other lesbians. Wow!!!

#the dream #so damn expensive though #gonna need a second job to fund this lol #lesbian #lesbian literature #mine

42 notes · View notes