Books by and for lesbians include certain classics that many of us, LGBT or not, treasure in our libraries. These include such works as Rubyfruit Jungle by Rita Mae Brown and The Color Purple by Alice Walker. Also on the top 10 list for many is The Gilda Stories by Bay Area-based Jewelle Gomez. It was an instant lesbian hit when it was first published in 1991, and the publisher—one of our San Francisco faves, City Lights—is now celebrating its release and evolution over the years in our culture with an expanded 25th anniversary edition.
This remarkable novel begins in 1850s Louisiana, where Gilda escapes slavery and learns about freedom while working in a brothel. After being initiated into eternal life as one who “shares the blood” by two women there, Gilda spends the next 200 years searching for a place to call home.
The Gilda Stories has endured as an auspiciously prescient book in its explorations of blackness, radical ecology, redefinitions of family, and yes, the erotic potential of the vampire story.
San Francisco Bay Times Co-Publisher and “Betty’s List” founder Dr. Betty Sullivan recently re-read the book and loved it, being transported into the sexy and thought-provoking world that it presents. We invite you not only to read, or revisit, the novel, but also to check out one of the many related events that will take place over the next several months.
It is also long overdue to honor its author, Gomez, who additionally is an LGBT activist. She wrote the books Forty-Three Septembers, Don’t Explain, The Lipstick Papers, Flamingoes and Bears, and Oral Tradition. She is now, among other projects, further developing a play about the internationally known African American jazz singer and songwriter Alberta Hunter. The Gilda Stories was the recipient of two Lambda Literary Awards, and was adapted for the stage by the Urban Bush Women Company in thirteen U.S. cities. To order a copy of your own, please go to https://secure.citylights.com/cart/?fa=additem&gcoi=87286100095910&item_id=3_41223_34319
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