Sixty-Nine Selections: Reading Lesbians in Popular Literature

In a chapter titled, "Open the Book, Crack the Spine: 69 Meditations on Lesbians in Popular Literature" in Queers in American Popular Culture, Volume 2: Literature, Pop Art, and Performance (Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger, 2010), I offer sixty-nine selections for reading lesbian literature. The complete list is below. I welcome readers additional thoughts, quibbles, additions, deletions via email or Facebook.

Julie R. Enszer

Sixty-Nine Selections
(listed in order by initial date of publication)

1. Sappho: Memoir, Text, Selected Renderings and a Literal Translation by Henry Thornton Wharton, 1885. (See also twentieth century translations by Mary Barnard, Willis Barnstone, and Anne Carson.)
2. Long Ago, Michael Field, 1895.
3. Les Chansons of Bilitis, Pierre Louÿs, 1895.
4. A Woman Appeared to Me, Renee Vivien, 1904.
5. A Dome of Many-Coloured Glass, Amy Lowell, 1912.
6. Tender Buttons, Gertrude Stein, 1914.
7. Pensees d’une Amazone, Natalie Clifford Barney, 1920.
8. Rachel: A Play in Three Acts, Angelina Weld Grimké, 1920.
9. Orlando, Virginia Woolf, 1928.
10. The Well of Loneliness, Radcliffe Hall, 1929.
11. Passing, Nella Larsen, 1929.
12. My Thirty Years’ War, Margaret Anderson, 1930.
13. The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas, Gertrude Stein, 1933.
14. We Too Are Drifting, Gale Wilhelm, 1935.
15. Feux, Marguerite Yourcenar, 1936 (published in English in 1981.)
16. Nightwood, Djuna Barnes, 1936.
17. Olivia, Olivia, 1949.
18. The Price of Salt, Claire Morgan (Patricia Highsmith), 1952.
19. Odd Girl Out, Ann Bannon, 1957.
20. Whisper Their Love, Valerie Taylor, 1957.
21. A Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry, 1959.
22. I am a Woman, Ann Bannon, 1959.
23. Journey to a Woman, Ann Bannon, 1960.
24. Mrs. Stevens Hears the Mermaids Singing, May Sarton, 1965.
25. Desert of the Heart, Jane Rule, 1964.
26. A Place for Us, Isabel Miller, 1969 (republished in 1972 by McGraw Hill as Patience and Sarah.)
27. Edward the Dyke and Other Poems, Judy Grahn, 1969.
28. Rubyfruit Jungle, Rita Mae Brown, 1973.
29. We Are All Lesbians, various authors, 1973.
30. Diving into the Wreck, Adrienne Rich, 1973.
31. Riverfinger Women, Elana Nachman (now Elana Dykewomon), 1974
32. Loving Her, Ann Allen Shockley, 1974.
33. Opoponax, Monique Wittig, 1966, 1976.
34. The Female Man, Joanna Russ, 1975.
35. Lover, Bertha Harris, 1976.
36. The Wanderground, Sally Miller Gearhart, 1978.
37. The Black Unicorn, Audre Lorde, 1979.
38. Claiming an Identity They Taught Me To Despise, Michelle Cliff.
39. HERmione, H.D., 1981 (written in 1927.)
40. Zami: A New Spelling of My Name, Audre Lorde.
41. Curious Wine, Katherine Forrest, 1983
42. Valley of the Amazons, Noretta Koertge, 1984.
43. Between Friends, Gillian Hanscombe, 1984.
44. Love, Death, and the Changing of the Seasons, Marilyn Hacker, 1986.
45. Oranges are not the only fruit, Jeannette Winterson, 1987.
46. After Delores, Sarah Schulman, 1988.
47. Hallowed Murder (first in the Jane Lawless Series), Ellen Hart, 1989.
48. Her, Cherry Muhanji, 1990.
49. Disappearing Moon Café, Sky Lee, 1990.
50. The Gilda Stories, Jewelle Gomez, 1991.
51. Drawing the Line: Sexual Politics on the Wall, Kiss & Tell Collective (Persimmon Blackbridge, Lizard Jones, and Susan Stewart), 1991.
52. Bastard Out of Carolina, Dorothy Allison, 1992.
53. Margins, Terri de la Pena, 1992.
54. Ammonite, Nicola Griffith, 1993.
55. Murder in the Collective, Barbara Wilson, 1993.
56. Hothead Paisan: Suicidal Lesbian Terrorist, Diane DiMassa.
57. Autobiography of a Family Photo, Jacqueline Woodson, 1994.
58. Stir Fry, Emma Donoghue, 1994.
59. Cereus Blooms at Night, Shani Mootoo, 1996.
60. Potential, Ariel Schrag, 1997.
61. Tipping the Velvet, Sarah Waters, 1998.
62. Valencia, Michelle Tea, 2000.
63. Tea. Stacey D’Erasmo, 2000.
64. Juicy Mother: Celebration, Jennifer Camper, 2004.
65. Fun Home, Alison Bechdel, 2005.
66. The Niagara River, Kay Ryan, 2005.
67. Thirst, Mary Oliver, 2006.
68. Rapture, Carol Ann Duffy, 2006
69. The Essential Dykes to Watch Out For, Alison Bechdel, 2008