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Foreword Despite the efforts o f lesbian and feminist publishing houses and a fe w universit y presses, the bul k o f the most important lesbia n works ha s traditionall y bee n availabl e onl y fro m rare-boo k dealers, i n a fe w universit y libraries , o r i n ga y an d lesbia n archives. This series intends, in the first place, to make representative examples of this neglected and insufficiently know n litera ture available to a broader audience by reissuing selected classics and by putting into print for the first time lesbian novels, diaries, letters, and memoirs that ar e of special interest and significance , but which hav e moldered i n libraries an d private collections fo r decades o r eve n fo r centuries , know n onl y t o th e fe w scholar s who ha d th e courag e an d financial wherewitha l t o trac k the m down. Their names have been known fo r a long time—Sappho, th e Amazons o f Nort h Africa , th e Beguines , Aphr a Behn , Quee n Christina, Emil y Dickinson, th e Ladies of Llangollen , Radclyff e Hall, Natali e Cliffor d Barney , H.D. , an d s o man y other s fro m every nation , race , an d era . Bu t governmen t an d religiou s offi cials burne d thei r writings , historian s an d literar y scholar s de nied the y wer e lesbians , powerfu l me n kep t thei r book s ou t o f XIII xiv • Forewor d print, an d influentia l archivist s locke d u p thei r idea s fa r fro m sympathetic eyes . Yet som e dedicate d scholar s an d reader s stil l knew who they were, made pilgrimages to the cities and villages where the y ha d live d an d t o th e graveyard s wher e the y rested . They passe d aroun d tattere d volume s o f letters , diaries , an d biographies, i n whic h the y ha d underline d wha t seeme d t o b e telltale hints of a secret or differen t kin d o f life. Where no har d facts existed , legends were invented. The few precious and ofte n available pre-Stonewal l lesbia n classics , suc h a s The Well of Loneliness b y Radclyff e Hall , The Price of Salt b y Clair e Mor gan (Patrici a Highsmith), and Desert of the Heart b y Jane Rule , were cherished. Lesbian pulp was devoured. One of the primary goals o f thi s serie s i s to giv e th e mor e neglecte d works , whic h constitute th e vas t majorit y o f lesbia n writing , th e attentio n they deserve. A second but no less important ai m of this series is to present the "cuttin g edge " o f contemporar y lesbia n scholarshi p an d theory across a wide range of disciplines. Practitioners of lesbian studies have not adopted a uniform approac h t o literary theory , history, sociology, or any other discipline, nor should they. This series intends to present a n array of voices that truly reflects th e diversity o f th e lesbia n community . T o hel p m e i n thi s task , I am luck y enoug h t o b e assiste d b y a distinguishe d editoria l board that reflects various professional, class , racial, ethnic, and religious background s a s wel l a s a spectru m o f interest s an d sexual preferences . At present the field of lesbian studies occupies a small, precarious , an d somewha t conteste d pied-a-terr e betwee n ga y studie s and women's studies. The former i s still in its infancy, especiall y if one compares it to other discipline s that have been part of th e core curriculu m o f ever y chil d an d adolescen t fo r severa l de cades o r eve n centuries . However , althoug h i t i s on e o f th e newest disciplines , ga y studie s ma y als o b e th e fastest-growin g one—at...

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