Synopsis
A groundbreaking volume from Lamda Award-winning editors Naomi Holoch and Joan Nestle, The Vintage Book of International Lesbian Fiction presents a range of literary voices--from twenty-seven countries spanning six continents--and offers glimpses of lesbian life in unfamilar, often exotic climes.
We follow an Irish woman as she travels through time in search of a wronged maiden, and anticipate the harrowing fate of a married Indian woman who pursues pleasure with her female lover under the shadow of her husbands suspicious rage. We meet a teacher in Barcelona who locks herself up in her grandmother's house with her young Columbian student, and witness a Slovenian woman's rendezvous with her long dead lover.
This collection includes the work of familiar writers, as well as a number never before published in English. From the West Indies to Eastern Europe, the Middle East to Southeast Asia, Latin America to South Africa, the distinctive stories found in these pages evoke the diverse political, cultural, emotional, and sexual landscapes of each writer's life. A groundbreaking volume from the Lamda Award-winning editors Naomi Holoch and Joan Nestle, who also wrote the introduction, this collections evokes the universal urgency of persistent desire.
Table of Contents:
Mary Dorcey, Ireland from A Noise from the WoodshedMakeda Sivera, JamaicaCaribbean ChameleonMireille Best, FranceStéphanie's BookChristina Peri Rossi, UruguayFinal Judgement and Singing in the DesertShani Mootoo, India-Trinidad-CanadaLemon ScentMarguerite Yourcenar, BelgiumSappho or SuicideEmma Donoghue, IrelandLooking for PetronillaSylvia Molloy, Argentinafrom Certificate of AbsenceDale Gunthorp, South AfricaGypsophilaKaren Williams, South AfricaThe Came at DawnCynthia Price, South AfricaLesbian BedroomsAlifa Rifaat, EgyptMy World of the UnknownYasmin V. Tambiah, Sri LankaThe Civil War, Sandalwood, Transl(iter)ation I, and Transl(iter)ation II (for Aruna and Giti)Dionne Brand, TrinidadMadame Alaird's BreastsViolette Leduc, Francefrom L'AphyxieAnchee Min, ChinafromRed AzaleaGerd Brantenberg, Norwayfrom Four WindsEsther Tusquets, Spainfrom The Same Sea as Every SummerKaren-Susan Fessel, GermanyLost FacesMar$#237;a Eugenia Alegría Nuñez, CubaThe Girl Typist Who Worked for a Provincial Ministry of CultureNgahuia Te Awekatuku, Aotearoa/New ZealandParetipua, Old Man Tuna, andWatching the Big GirlsDacia Maraini, ItalyfromLetters to MarinaRosamaría Roffiel, MexicoForever Lasts Only a Full MoonAnna Blaman, Hollandfrom Lonely AdventureChrista Winsloe, Germanyfrom The Child ManuelaAchy Obejas, CubaWatersNicole Brossard, CanadafromMauve DesertGila Svirsky, IsraelMeeting NataliaMaureen Duffy, EnglandfromThe MicrocosmJeanne D'Arc Jutras, Canadafrom GeorgieSuzana Tratnik, SloveniaUnder the Ironwood TreesElena Georgiou, CyprusAphrodite's VisionEtel Adnan, Lebanonfrom In the Heart of the Heart of Another CountryGina Schein, AustraliaMinnie Gets Married
Table of Contents
Mary Dorcey, Ireland
from A Noise from the Woodshed
Makeda Sivera, Jamaica
Caribbean Chameleon
Mireille Best, France
Stéphanie’s Book
Christina Peri Rossi, Uruguay
Final Judgement and Singing in the Desert
Shani Mootoo, India-Trinidad-Canada
Lemon Scent
Marguerite Yourcenar, Belgium
Sappho or Suicide
Emma Donoghue, Ireland
Looking for Petronilla
Sylvia Molloy, Argentina
from Certificate of Absence
Dale Gunthorp, South Africa
Gypsophila
Karen Williams, South Africa
The Came at Dawn
Cynthia Price, South Africa
Lesbian Bedrooms
Alifa Rifaat, Egypt
My World of the Unknown
Yasmin V. Tambiah, Sri Lanka
The Civil War, Sandalwood, Transl(iter)ation I, and
Transl(iter)ation II (for Aruna and Giti)
Dionne Brand, Trinidad
Madame Alaird’s Breasts
Violette Leduc, France
from L'Aphyxie
Anchee Min, China
from Red Azalea
Gerd Brantenberg, Norway
from Four Winds
Esther Tusquets, Spain
from The Same Sea as Every Summer
Karen-Susan Fessel, Germany
Lost Faces
María Eugenia Alegría Nuñez, Cuba
The Girl Typist Who Worked for a Provincial Ministry of Culture
Ngahuia Te Awekatuku, Aotearoa/New Zealand
Paretipua, Old Man Tuna, and
Watching the Big Girls
Dacia Maraini, Italy
from Letters to Marina
Rosamaría Roffiel, Mexico
Forever Lasts Only a Full Moon
Anna Blaman, Holland
from Lonely Adventure
Christa Winsloe, Germany
from The Child Manuela
Achy Obejas, Cuba
Waters
Nicole Brossard, Canada
from Mauve Desert
Gila Svirsky, Israel
Meeting Natalia
Maureen Duffy, England
from The Microcosm
Jeanne D’Arc Jutras, Canada
from Georgie
Suzana Tratnik, Slovenia
Under the Ironwood Trees
Elena Georgiou, Cyprus
Aphrodite’s Vision
Etel Adnan, Lebanon
from In the Heart of the Heart of Another Country
Gina Schein, Australia
Minnie Gets Married
Bibliography
Suggested Additional Reading
Acknowledgements
Permissions Acknowledgements