The Lesbian South
The Lesbian South
Southern Feminists, the Women in Print Movement, and the Queer Literary Canon

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New by Jaime Harker

The Lesbian South:

Southern Feminists, the Women in Print Movement, and the Queer Literary Canon

 
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About the Book

In this book, Jaime Harker uncovers a largely forgotten literary renaissance in southern letters. Anchored by a constellation of southern women, the Women in Print movement grew from the queer union of women's liberation, civil rights activism, gay liberation, and print culture. Broadly influential from the 1970s through the 1990, the Women in Print movement created a network of writers, publishers, bookstores, and readers that fostered a remarkable array of literature.

Left, Feminary Collective

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With the freedom that the Women in Print movement inspired, southern lesbian feminists remade southernness as a site of intersectional radicalism, transgressive sexuality, and liberatory space. Including well-known authors - like Dorothy Allison and Alice Walker - as well as overlooked writers, publishers, and editors, Harker reconfigures the southern literary canon and the feminist canon, challenging histories of feminism and queer studies to include the South in a formative role.

Right, Rita Mae Brown with Lavender Menace

Reviews

 

Michael Bibler, Louisiana State University:

“In this essential study of southern literature, Jaime Harker uncovers the complex networks of affiliation, sometimes antagonistic and sometimes loving, that shaped southern lesbian feminism, and the rich literary archive that women in these networks produced. A must-have for any reader.”

Trysh Travis, author of The Language of the Heart:

“In a moment in which we are again invited to see the red-state South as backward, brutal, and banal, here comes Jaime Harker’s book. Her inventive use of feminist print institutions connects a diverse set of places and players and allows Harker to offer a much-needed look at the complex culture of southern lesbian feminism that has evolved since the 1970s. The fact that she writes not only with insight but also with genuine affection is sweet icing on a delicious—and much needed—cake.”

 
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