Elana Dykewomon
Encyclopedia
Elana Dykewomon is a Jewish lesbian
activist, award-winning author, editor and teacher.
, to middle class
Jewish parents. She and her family moved to Puerto Rico
when she was eight.
in Portland, Oregon
, received a B.F.A. in creative writing from the California Institute of Arts, later and her M.F.A. from San Francisco State University
.
and teaches at her alma mater San Francisco State.
Her second book, They Will Know Me By My Teeth, released in 1976, was published under the name Elana Dykewoman, "at once an expression of her strong commitment to the lesbian community and a way to keep herself 'honest,' since anyone reading the book would know the author was a lesbian."
The book of poetry, Fragments From Lesbos printed in 1981 "for lesbians only," was published under the author's current last name, "Dykewomon," in order "to avoid etymological connection with men."
In the 1989 anthology of writing by Jewish Women, The Tribe of Dina, Dykewomon describes herself as "a Lesbian Separatist, descendant of the Baal Shem Tov, typesetter, ...poet"
, an international lesbian feminist journal of literature, art and politics, as well as contributing regularly to several other lesbian periodicals, including Common Lives/Lesbian Lives
. She has also been a regular contributor to Bridges a magazine of writing by Jewish Women.
Anthologies
Periodicals
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
activist, award-winning author, editor and teacher.
Childhood
Dykewomon was born in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, to middle class
Middle class
The middle class is any class of people in the middle of a societal hierarchy. In Weberian socio-economic terms, the middle class is the broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socio-economically between the working class and upper class....
Jewish parents. She and her family moved to Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
when she was eight.
Education
She studied fine art at Reed CollegeReed College
Reed College is a private, independent, liberal arts college located in southeast Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1908, Reed is a residential college with a campus located in Portland's Eastmoreland neighborhood, featuring architecture based on the Tudor-Gothic style, and a forested canyon wilderness...
in Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, received a B.F.A. in creative writing from the California Institute of Arts, later and her M.F.A. from San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University is a public university located in San Francisco, California. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers over 100 areas of study from nine academic colleges...
.
Academic
Dykewomon lives in Oakland, CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and teaches at her alma mater San Francisco State.
Books
In 1974, Dykewomon published her first novel, Riverfinger Women, under her name of birth, Elana Nachman.Her second book, They Will Know Me By My Teeth, released in 1976, was published under the name Elana Dykewoman, "at once an expression of her strong commitment to the lesbian community and a way to keep herself 'honest,' since anyone reading the book would know the author was a lesbian."
The book of poetry, Fragments From Lesbos printed in 1981 "for lesbians only," was published under the author's current last name, "Dykewomon," in order "to avoid etymological connection with men."
In the 1989 anthology of writing by Jewish Women, The Tribe of Dina, Dykewomon describes herself as "a Lesbian Separatist, descendant of the Baal Shem Tov, typesetter, ...poet"
Periodicals
From 1987–1995, Dykewomon edited Sinister WisdomSinister Wisdom
Sinister Wisdom is a multicultural, lesbian literary & art journal by and for lesbians. The magazine is the oldest surviving lesbian literary journal; now more than 30 years in print...
, an international lesbian feminist journal of literature, art and politics, as well as contributing regularly to several other lesbian periodicals, including Common Lives/Lesbian Lives
Common Lives/Lesbian Lives
Common Lives/Lesbian Lives was a collectively produced lesbian quarterly which published out of Iowa City, Iowa, from 1981-1996. The magazine had a stated commitment to reflect the diversity of lesbians by actively soliciting and printing in each issue the work and ideas of lesbians of color,...
. She has also been a regular contributor to Bridges a magazine of writing by Jewish Women.
Awards
- Beyond The Pale, a historical novel published by Press Gang PublishersPress Gang PublishersPress Gang Publishing was a [feminist]] printing and publishing collective active in [Vancouver, BC, Canada between the early 1970s and 2002.-Early history:...
in 1997, won a 1998 Lambda Literary AwardLambda Literary AwardLambda Literary Awards are awarded yearly by the US-based Lambda Literary Foundation to published works which celebrate or explore LGBT themes. Categories include Humor, Romance and Biography. To qualify, a book must have been published in the United States in the year current to the award...
for best LesbianLesbianLesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
novel of that year. - Riverfinger Women was selected by a panel of judges (including Dorothy AllisonDorothy AllisonDorothy Allison is an American writer, speaker, and member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers.-Early life:Dorothy E. Allison was born on April 11, 1949 in Greenville, South Carolina to Ruth Gibson Allison, who was fifteen at the time. Ruth was a poor and unmarried mother who worked as a...
, Samuel R. DelanySamuel R. DelanySamuel Ray Delany, Jr., also known as "Chip" is an American author, professor and literary critic. His work includes a number of novels, many in the science fiction genre, as well as memoir, criticism, and essays on sexuality and society.His science fiction novels include Babel-17, The Einstein...
, Lillian FadermanLillian FadermanLillian Faderman is a scholar whose books on lesbian relationships and romantic friendship in history have earned critical praise and awards. Faderman is a professor of English at California State University in Fresno, California.-Early life:...
, M.E. Kerr, Sarah SchulmanSarah SchulmanSarah Miriam Schulman is an American novelist, historian and playwright. An early chronicler of the AIDS crisis, she wrote on AIDS and social issues, publishing in The Village Voice in the early 1980s, and writing the first piece on AIDS and the homeless, which appeared in The Nation...
, and Barbara SmithBarbara SmithBarbara Smith in Cleveland is an American, lesbian feminist who has played a significant role in building and sustaining Black Feminism in the United States. Since the early 1970s she has been active as an innovative critic, teacher, lecturer, author, independent scholar, and publisher of Black...
) as #87/100 in The Publishing Triangles list of 100 best lesbian and gay novels
Selected publications
Books- Riverfinger Women: a novel (under Elana Nachman). Daughters, Inc., 1974
- They Will Know Me By My Teeth, short stories and poetry Megaera Press, 1976.
- Fragments from Lesbos: poetry Diaspora Distribution, 1981
- Nothing Will Be As Sweet As The Taste, selected poems Onlywomen Press, 1995
- Beyond the Pale Press Gang PublishersPress Gang PublishersPress Gang Publishing was a [feminist]] printing and publishing collective active in [Vancouver, BC, Canada between the early 1970s and 2002.-Early history:...
, 1997 - Moon Creek Road Spinster's ink booksSpinster's ink booksFounded in Upstate New York in 1978 by Maureen Brady and Judith McDaniel, Spinsters Ink is one of the oldest Lesbian Feminist publishers in the world. It is currently owned by publisher Linda Hill, who purchased the Spinsters Ink in 2005.. Hill also owns Bella Books and...
, 2003
Anthologies
- The Body Politic — Meditations on Identity in This Bridge We Call Home – Radical Visions for Transformation, edited by Gloria Anzaldúa and Analouise Keating, RoutledgeRoutledgeRoutledge is a British publishing house which has operated under a succession of company names and latterly as an academic imprint. Its origins may be traced back to the 19th-century London bookseller George Routledge...
, 2002. - Manna from Heaven - from The Tribe of Dina: A Jewish Women's Anthology, Beacon Press, 1989, ISBN 0807036056
- The Fourth Daughter’s Four Hundred Questions, Nice Jewish Girls: A Lesbian Anthology. Boston: Beacon, 1989.
- Various Poetry, in What I Want From You – Voices of East Bay Lesbian Poets, edited: Linda Zeiser and Trena Machado, Raw Art Press, 2006
- Seeking Welcome, in Love, Castro Street, edited: Katherine V. ForrestKatherine V. ForrestKatherine V. Forrest is an American writer.Forrest is best known for her eight novels about lesbian police detective Kate Delafield. The character was the very first lesbian police detective in the American lesbian mystery genre and is described as "Miss Marple with k.d...
and Jim Van Buskirk, Alyson Press, 2007 - Traveling Fat, Out the Other Side — Contemporary Lesbian Writing, Virago PressVirago PressVirago is a British publishing company founded in 1973 by Carmen Callil to publish books by women writers. Both new works and reissued books by neglected authors have featured on the imprint's list....
, London, England, 1989.
Periodicals
- My Mother and the Wars in Bridges – A Journal for Jewish Feminists and Our Friends edited by Clare Kinberg, Vol. 9, No. 2, Eugene, Oregon, 2002
- Changing the World in Journal of Lesbian Studies, Volume 5, Number 3, edited by Nanette GartrellNanette GartrellNanette Gartrell, MD, is an American psychiatrist, researcher, and writer. Gartrell is the author of over 50 research reports on topics ranging from medical student depression to lesbian mothers and their children to sexual exploitation of patients by healthcare professionals...
, M.D. and Ester Rothblum, PhD, Harrington Park Press, December, 2001 - Are We Ready to Throw Our Weight Around? – Fat Women and Political Activism, (co-authored with Esther Rothblum) in The Fat Studies Reader, edited: Esther Rothblum and Sondra Solovay, University of California Press, 2007
- Lesbian Quarters: On Building Space, Identity, Institutional Memory and Resources, Journal of Lesbian Studies (Vol. 9, Numbers 1 & 2, 2005)
- Butch resisting the pressure to change gender, Sojourner, Boston, April 2000.