Lesbian Literatúre in 1960

By Gono Damon

The subject of Lesbianism is so wide spread in current fiction that generalizations are banal and inconclusive. Hardly a week passes without a few paperback originals appearing on local newsstands throughout the country. These range from trash to relatively high quality fiction. Each month brings at least one, and sometimes more, hardback novels with Lesbian characters included. The year 1957 produced 24 titles, 1958 30 title s.

In the February, 1960, issue of THE LADDER, I reported a total of 52 new titles for the year 1959 and numerous 1959 titles have come to my attention since that time.

The year 1960 has been even more fantastic with over 75 now titles. (At the end of this article is a complete list of all new titles discovered for the years 1959 and 1960 since the abovementioned article appeared.)

As far as quality is concerned, some titles deserve special mention. Among the hardback books of note are: I WILL NOT SERVE, by Evaline Mahyere; HERE LIES THE HEART, by Mercedes de Acosta; THE NIGHT OF THE HIGH WIND, by Joanna Catlow; NIGHT MUSIC, by Sven Stolpe; CLEA, by Lawrence Durrell; WHEN THE OWL CRIES, by Paul Bartlett; DEATH OF ANGER, by Allan Seager, MARIANNE, by Froderic Mullally;

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