Edmonton Lesbian+ Book Club

April's title is "The Woman Who Owned the Shadows" by Paula Gunn Allen. She is one of the first Aboriginal (American) authors to be published, let alone lesbian ones! For those of you planning ahead, May's title is "This Wild Silence" by Lucy Jane Bledsoe, and June's title is "The Quilt and other stories" by Ismat Chugtai.

Quebec lesbian author Nicole Brossard celebrates her 40th publishing anniversary. This month, Coach House Books will publish Yesterday, at the Hotel Clarendon the English translation of Brossard's 2001 novel, Hier. It's her first English novel in 8 years, and will be launched at the Blue Metropolis Montreal International Literary Festival on March 31. I know, we're in Edmonton, she's in Montreal. Still, it's good news and worth mentioning in case you are planning to be in Montreal later this month! The event will feature readings of Brossard’s work in English and French by Martine Audet, Denise Desautels, Louise Forsyth, Alberto Manguel and Elise Turcotte, and a collaborative reading from Yesterday, at the Hotel Clarendon by Brossard and the novel's translator, Susanne de Lotbinière-Harwood. Yesterday, at the Hotel Clarendon is hailed by critics in Quebec as the synthesis of almost four decades of writing. According to Coach House, it is a meditation on time, ...

1. How is reading a collection of short stories different from reading a novel? There were 14 stories. Do you have a favourite? Do you have a least favourite? 2. Most (all?) of the main characters identified as butch. Do you identify as butch? Did you like reading stories from this perspective? For instance, did you enjoy “Stone Butch,” and the main character, Mitos? 3. The copy on the back cover says that the book “expands the definitions of butch.” How many different definitions of “butch” do you think the book offers? 4. Some of the stories didn’t give names to the characters, such as in “Big Nipple of the North.” Did you like this? 5. Many of the stories had lesbian characters that knew they were lesbians (or something different anyway) at a very young age, such as “When You’re Six.” What did you think of this? Did you know at a young age that you were “different”? Do you know anyone who has had this experience? 6. What did you think of “The Lesbian Hen”? 7. In “Innocent Lust” the ...

Another great link provided by Lindy: Rainbow Reading: A Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered Booklist Check it out!

Throw It To the River by Nice Rodriguez (review found on a discussion board for Filipinos about books that made a difference in their lives) I really liked this book. It's a collection of short stories (fiction) about women in the Philippines. Some are funny, sad, political, sexy, frustrating, emotional, or a combination. It's about relationships between women and how those relationships affect the other people around them. It is the only book I know of that portrays different experiences of being queer and female in the Philippines (most of the stories take place in Manila). It's also politically and culturally enlightening. I think all of the characters are interesting and prismatic (not one dimensional). A very nice read. Highly recommend, whether you are queer or not. Throw It to the River by Nice Rodriguez (review found at a UCLA student discussion) This debut collection of short stories introduces Nice Rodriguez as a writer whose style is fresh and clean. Set in the P...

March's selection is "Throw it to the River" by Nice Rodriguez. The author is Filipino, living in Toronto. The book is actually a collection of short stories - this should be an interesting change from our routine. It portrays the lesbian experience in the Philippines - most of the stories take place in Manila.