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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 1, 1985)
M oll C utpurse. Ellen Galford. 1985. Fire brand Books. $7.95. Light tales o f a pipe sm oking lesbian rogue in Elizabethan England. A ccom m odations Offered. Anna Livia. 1985. W om an's Press, London. B iting hum or and political insight into fem inist culture, apart heid, lesbian relationships. Tales o f The C ity; Further Tales o f The City; More Tales o f The City. Arm istead Maupin. 1978,1982,1980. Harper & Row/Colophon. $8.95. Fun rom p through gayest San Francisco. For Keeps. Elizabeth Nonas. 1985. Naiad Press. $7.95. Dykes in m oney-m aking pro fessions and nicely done eroticism . M urder in the Collective. Barbara W ilson. 1984. Seal Press. $7.95. Intriguing lesbian m ystery a cut above m o st Trying to Be an H onest W oman. Judith Bar rington. 1985. Eighteen M ountain Press. $6.95. High praise for these Northwest Coast poem s by a local talent S toner McTavish. Sarah Dreher. 1985. New Victoria Publishers. $7.95. A hum orous les bian western adventure you can get your teeth into. W omen W ho Loved W omen. Tee Corinne. 1984. Pearlchild. $7.95. Picture book o f our lesbian ancestresses. The Second Seasonal P olitical Palate. 1984. The B loodroot Collective Sanguinara. $ 10.95. A cookbook for the vegetarian (or carnivore) who likes to eat well. Dancer Dawkins and the California Kid. W illyce Kim . 1985. Alyson. $5.95. A Western w hich tap dances to the rhythm o f poet Kim 's deft words. The Way Back. Stories o f Gay and Lesbian A lcoholics. Gay C ouncil on D rinking Behavior. 1981-2. The W hitm an-W alker C linic. $5.95. A teaching, m oving collection o f real life stories. Triangles. Ruth Geller. Crossing Press. $7.95. G eller's th ird and m ost lesbian novel. W orth it fo r G randm a Rose Rosenthal alone. O th e r W omen. Lisa Alther. 1985. Knopf. $4.50. A lesbian with fam iliar conflicts which she explores with a therapist The S w ashbuckler. Lee Lynch. 1985. Naiad Press. $7.95. " . . . perhaps the m ost m oving novel o f lesbian life ever written." Joy Parks, Love story set in the transi tio n years o f the 1960s. Hell, I’d read it even if som eone else wrote it The Body Politic. Jonestow n and O ther Madness. Pat Parker. 1985. Firebrand. $5.95. Fifth book of Parker’s popular poetry. Lesbian N uns, Breaking Silence. Rosemary Curb, Nancy Manahan. 1985. Naiad Press. $9.95. A sensitive and passionate collection o f real stories by women whose passage to them selves led through the convent M isfortu ne’s Friend. Sarah Aldridge. 1985. Naiad Press. $7.95. Another good read for the hordes o f A ldridge fans. by Pat Scott Trying To Be An Honest Wormui. Just O ut, December. 1985 Judith Barrington. like is that audiences, particularly poetry au diences, feel obliged to be very well-behaved and q u ie t" she says. Barrington works to challenge that and other stereotypes. Jud ith Barrington is a writer, a lesbian and a fem inist, and each o f these threads is wo ven inextricably into the fabric o f her life. A bout w riting she is "obsessive" — w riting early in the m orning, before talking to any one, before doing anything else. “ I don't like to get involved in the w orld before I start We, Too, Are D riftin g : T o rch lig h t to Valhalla. Gale W ilhelm . 1985. Naiad. $6.95. Reprinted fo r the first tim e since the 1930s, these novels are fine works o f a rt A true g ift for all o f us. incredibly O u tg ro w in g the Pain. A B ook For and A bout A dults Abused as Children. Eliana Gil, PhD. 1983. Launch Press. $6.95. For the em otion ally as well as physically battered, an in tro du ction to oneself. More fro m M usica Fem ina. Janna M acAusland and Kristen Aspen. 1985. Lilac Recordings. Taped m usical fare to play by the fireside from still m ore local artists. The Unexpected Mrs. Polifax. Dorothy G ilm an Butters. 1966. $1.25. N ot new, not fem inist, not lesbian or gay. A sixtyish widow decides to becom e a spy. For m ystery/ espionage buffs with a conscience there are a series o f these books. Judith Barrington: A concern with excellence Six years ago she stood in fro nt o f a w om en’s poetry class at Portland State Uni versity as teacher and budding poet, and spoke o f fem inism , lesbianism , the female experience, the problem s o f w om en writing. Today she speaks o f the same things; but she stands taller somehow, straighter, m ore self- assured. Ju d ith Barrington has ju st returned from a 16-city national to u r prom oting her book o f poetry, Her readings took her from Boise, Idaho to Boston, Massachusetts, and her book has nearly sold out its first printing — unheard o f fo r a book o f poetry. She has published essays, poetry, travel features. She is a book reviewer. She is also co-leader and organizer o f R ig h t o f the Mind — a program o f w riting classes fo r women, w hich includes a week-long sum m er w ork shop retreat by the McKenzie River in the O regon Cascades. Exhausted as she is by these efforts and frustrated by her lack o f tim e, B arrington is b rim -fu ll o f ideas for new works. She is co editing, w ith Seattle fiction w riter Barbara W ilson, a collection o f fem inist pieces about w riting. She is w riting a novel. And a concept she's beginning to pursue is the creation of “ perform ance pieces," blending poetry and m usic. B arrington’s poem s have a strong narra tive strain and appeal to those who are not poetry aficianados as well as those with a strong literary b e n t Her poem s are not obscure, not arrogantly am biguous; she chooses not to distance herself and her ex perience from her audience. And her read ings give nod to the fact that poetry really is an oral tradition. Thus, Barrington views her self as a "perform er" and encourages audi ence interaction. "O ne o f the things I don’t Q u ie t Fire: M em oirs o f O lder Gay Men. Keith Vacha. 1985. Crossing. $8.95. Q u ie t yes, but instructive o f ou r com m on lives and aging. w riting," she says. She makes her living prim arily by freelance journalism , a d ifficult undertaking, and her private life is arranged to provide the optim um atm osphere for creativity. Lesbianism , and lesbianism , is another equal part o f B arrington’s life and w riting. Her poem s are laden with " w rong -gendered pronouns,” as one reviewer delicately put it And her sexuality is acknowledged, e xp licit o v e rt D uring a recent poetry reading, Bar her rington advised the audience, p rior to interm ission, to "stick around. The love poem s are in the second half." Lesbianism is a fact o f her life the author is very com fortable w ith and not at all loathe to share. And fem inism is the fram ework. B arring ton is a w om an-identified-w om an not only in her sexuality but in recognizing her connect edness to all wom en. This is visible in her w ritings and in her w orkshops and classes as well. In w riting, her target audience is quite obvi ously wom en, although B arrington hastens to add she is pleased that her book o f poem s also “ reaches beyond that com m unity.” In classes and w orkshops she is determ ined to create a space "W here all w om en feel co m fortable to com e." She discusses the history o f w om en and o f wom en w riting. And she explores som e o f the difficulties indigenous to w om en writers: from discussions o f the fem ale role and w riting to "fin d in g your own voice.” One o f the m ajor differences still facing w om en writers, particularly those with children, B arrington asserts, is that even when they are able to create a space for their w riting, “ it’s always poached fro m between so m any things; it’s never open-ended space." W om en have the opportunity to side-step this particular difficu lty during the w eek-long sum m er w riting retreat presented by R ig h t o f the M ind. A long with lodging, food is pro vided, and stim ulating lectures and discus sions are offered. One has the chance to establish networks w ith other w om en writers; and a safe environm ent is provided to stretch and hone creativity. As far as advice to w om en w riters, B arring ton encourages them to seek o u t other w o men. "It’s very hard to be alone,” she says. Have the courage to share your w ork but pick carefully the person to do that w ith — not som eone w ho m ig ht dam age you. “ Your ex perience is legitim ate and im p o rta n t D on’t listen to the voice that says, It’s all been said before." And perhaps m ost im portantly, learn your cra ft — som ething B arrington herself is beginning to take m uch further now. “At this p o in t fo r me, m ost especially. I’m concerned w ith excellence," she says. "The fem inist m ovem ent helped us find our audi ence and find ou r voices and find ways to get to that audience; but I th in k now we m ust consciously pick what o f the m ainstream standards are im portant and aspire to them . We need to bridge the gap between the fem inist com m un ity and the rest o f the world. Any w riting th a t’s any good w ill speak to everybody in som e way, even if it makes people m om entarily uncom fortable." 7
