Diversity Rules Magazine

11 Diversity Rules Magazine September 2015 Her most recent book, An American Queer, a collection of "e Amazon Trail" col- umns, was presented with the 2015 Golden Crown Literary Society Award in Anthology/ Collection Creative Non Fic- tion. is, and her award- winning fiction, including e Raid, e Swashbuckler, and Beggar of Love, can be found at http://www.bold- strokesbooks.com/Author-Lee-Lynch.html. Near where I live, closeted lesbians built and installed a bench on a mostly hid- den concrete path between grassy sand dunes, out of sight of any casual observer. e bench was created in the mid 1990s to pay respect to members of the group who had died. ese women did not dare to name their dead. Even the full name of their sister- hood—a name that included the word lesbian—was too terrifying to engrave. Yet, I can guarantee that ev- ery group member read Rubyfruit Jungle and for the hours they spent with it they were unafraid. Because of such books, they dared to gather. ey learned to value, in a way society did not, lesbian lives. Where did this book come from? Was it pulp fiction? Was it some straight guy's fantasy? No. It was a cross- over book before there were lesbian crossover books, a lesbian classic before such a concept existed, and it was written by a radical lesbian feminist who was one of the founders, in 1971, of e Furies Collective of Washington, D.C., and who wrote for that newsletter and for "e Ladder." Rubyfruit Jungle helped us to rise from the primordial patriarchal ooze of fear, humiliation and silence. Audre Lorde might have been speaking of this author with her oft quoted words, "Your silence will not protect you." is year, I had the honor of present- ing the Golden Crown Literary Soci- ety (GCLS) Lee Lynch Classic Award to Rita Mae Brown for her 1973 novel Rubyfruit Jungle. Published initially in 1973 by the early feminist press, Daughters Inc., which was founded by novelists June Arnold and Bertha Harris and by feminist po- litical theorist Charlotte Bunch, this was a novel of its time, a slap in the face of the heterosexist world and a daring gift to lesbians. It, along with Desert of the Heart (1964), and Patience and Sarah (1969), was a voice of lesbian liberation, parting the curtains we hid behind with humor and insight. From it, lesbi- ans learned they might be alone, but they weren't the only lesbians on earth. Readers felt buoyed, felt human for a few hours or days. It changed lives and, still very much in print, continues to do so to this day. Author JD Glass, in "Af- terEllen," quoted from Rita Mae Brown's ac- ceptance speech: "You're alive—you fight. You keep fighting." Glass reported that Brown, "...reminded us all to continue to speak our truths, to tell our stories and that if we are 'defined by our oppression,' then we are still oppressed." e award was presented on a historic night for lesbian fiction. As advocate.com editors wrote, "e Golden Crown Literary Society's 11th annual literary awards in New Orleans brought together lesbian fiction pio- neers Rita Mae Brown, Lee Lynch, and Dorothy Al- lison, all sharing a stage for the first time." Author Karin Kallmaker presented Joan Nestle, in ab- sentia, with the GCLS Trailblazer award, in recogni- tion of her writings including Restricted Country and Persistent Desire and her activism for lesbians. Dorothy Allison, best-selling author of Trash, and Bas- tard Out of Carolina, gave an impassioned and pro- foundly moving keynote address. She said, of a visit to the original Lesbian Herstory Archives, which origi Amazon Trail - Con't on page 12 The Amazon Trail Dykey Dorothy and Friends By Lee Lynch (c) Can Stock Photo Inc. / grsphoto

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