Lez Keep It Real

This week’s Notable Lesbian is:

Audre Geraldine Lorde
February 18, 1934 - November 17, 1992

Audre Lorde was born in New York City to parents of West Indian heritage. The youngest of five children, she grew up in Harlem, hearing her mother’s stories about the West Indies. She wrote her first poem when she was in the eighth grade. Her first volume of poems, The First Cities, was published in 1968. In the 1980s, Lorde and writer Barbara Smith founded Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press. She was the poet laureate of New York from 1991-1992 and died of breast cancer in 1992.

Interesting tid bit: While studying Library Science after getting her BA from Hunter College, Lorde supported herself working various odd jobs: factory worker, ghost writer, social worker, X-ray technician, medical clerk, and arts and crafts supervisor. Lorde was also nearsighted and legally blind.

“I have come to believe over and over again that what is most important to me must be spoken, made verbal and shared, even at the risk of having it bruised or misunderstood.” ~ Audre Lorde

The Collected Poems Of Audre Lordewas published in 1997.

If you have a suggestion for a Notable Lesbian, contact me and I’ll highlight her in an upcoming post.

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This week’s Notable Lesbian is:

Barbara Gittings
July 31, 1932 – February 18, 2007

Barbara Gittings was a gay activist who established the first east coast chapter of the first lesbian organization in the United States, the Daughters of Bilitis (DOB), founded in 1955 in San Francisco. She was also instrumental in challenging the American Psychiatric Association’s anti-gay views. Her campaign to promote gay materials and eliminate discrimination in libraries has been recognized by an honorary lifetime membership conferred by the American Library Association in 2003.

Interesting tid bit: Barbara marched in the first gay rights picket lines in the mid-60s at the White House and the Pentagon and at Independence Hall in Philadelphia. The Barbara Gittings Award, given by GLAAD since 2001, is named in her honor.

Read an interview with Barbara.

Today’s Notable Lesbian was suggested by Amy.

If you have a suggestion for a Notable Lesbian, contact me and I’ll highlight her in an upcoming post.

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This week’s Notable Lesbian is:

Lillian Parr
1905 - 1978

Lilly Parr was an exceptional football player (soccer) and is best known for playing for The Dick, Kerr Ladies team, founded in 1917 and based in Lancashire, England. She played against both male and female teams and scored 43 goals in her first season at only 14 years old. She would go on to score more than 900 goals throughout her career (1919-1951). In 2002, she was the only woman to be made an Inaugural Inductee into the English Football Hall of Fame.

Interesting tid bit: Lilly came from a working class background and with the help of her partner, Mary, she was the first member of her family to own her own home. She died of breast cancer in 1978 .

Learn more about Lilly Parr

If you have a suggestion for a Notable Lesbian, contact me and I’ll highlight her in an upcoming post.

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Introducing the “Notable Lesbians” series. Every Thursday, I will highlight a lesbian from the present or the past that has made a notable contribution to society in some shape or form, whether as a scholar, entertainer, writer, political figure, etc.

If you have a suggestion for a Notable Lesbian, contact me and I’ll highlight her in an upcoming post.

This week’s Notable Lesbian is:

Amy Lawrence Lowell
February 9, 1874 – May 12, 1925
Amy was an American poet who lived in Boston, MA. She had a profound love of books and schooled herself by reading constantly. Growing up in the Lowell family, she was a socialite who enjoyed traveling. After viewing a performance piece in Europe, her poetic spirit took hold. Her first poem was published in 1910 and appeared in Atlantic Monthly.

Interesting tid bit: Amy preferred to smoke cigars instead of cigarettes, proclaiming that the “flavor” lasted longer.

Read Lowell’s Work

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