"Well, the blind lead the blind.

Guess I can't help you."

"You're right, every one's blind the whole world's blind--"

"Guess you are. So long, Gus."

·

The cock crowed at two in the morning. Wraith-like, the giants and fawns and elves staggered out into the storm: down the cobbled streets and reeling streetlamps, to their hotel rooms and sanctuaries, to sanity and home

TIME HAS BROUGHT A CHANGE

The general heterosexual opinion of Lesbianism, at least as is manifested in literature, seems to be changing from total censorship and oppression to one of interest.

The year 1957 produced more Lesbian fiction titles than any other single year in history so far as I can ascertain. There were 14 major treatments and at least five minor or fleeting treatments. Four of the 14 were paperback originals and the other 10 were hardbound editions from reputable publishers. Six of the 14 were sympathetic and two were merely stated without either approval or disapproval. The other six were wholly condemning.

The most unusual record, however, does not concern quan;tity of titles but quantity of popularity in mass outlet sales. The Publisher's Weekly, volume 173, No. 3, Jan. 20, 1958, names the top 10 paperback titles and one of the top 10 for the whole year was Reed Marr's "Women Without Men". The Publisher's Weekly also lists the best selling titles for each paperback publisher. Fav cett Publications, which puts out Gold Medal Books, listed the Reed Marr book first in sales of all their titles. They listed the highly sympathetic and quite well written "Odd Girl Out" by A. Bannon as their second best seller of the year 1957.

The future of Lesbian fiction is on good ground. Certainly any publisher anxious to make a profit will note this sales record and print manuscripts of a Lesbian nature.-B.G.

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