Poems Between Women - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0231109245 ISBN 13: 9780231109246

Publisher: Columbia University Press, 1997

Synopsis

With poems in English by over one hundred female poets--American, English, Scottish, Canadian, South African, Indian, Irish, and Australian--this is an extraordinary collection that pays homage to four centuries of women's desires, friendships, and expressions of love. The collection is testimony to the rich tradition of female verse and the timelessness of love and creativity.

About this title

Review

This book gathers the work of more than 100 female poets, of primarily British and American descent, since the 17th century. Emma Donoghue's astute introductory essay suggests a coherent tradition between the poetry of pre-20th-century romantic friendships and explicit contemporary lesbian poetry. She includes work by well-known writers such as Aphra Behn, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Adrienne Rich, and Audre Lorde, and also introduces the work of lesser-known historical writers. The brief biographies of the poets at the end of the book illustrate not only the varied backgrounds of these writers working outside the mainstream, but also the kinds of networks and alliances they formed to sustain one another.

From the Back Cover

The collection Poems Between Women explores many facets of female-female relationships in poems not only about love or affection between or inspired by women but also about the moments that complicate and call into question the nature of sexuality and intimacy between women. Including women married and single, young and old, lesbian, bisexual, and heterosexual, the anthology covers historical development and changing mores through the seventeenth century, after the Restoration of Charles II, a time of relative freedom for women; the eighteenth century, when the cult of romantic friendship reached its peak; the nineteenth century, when women writers wrote about issues of same-sex desire indirectly and explored complex issues such as death in tones of weariness and resignation; and the twentieth century, when poets began to engage in more overt explorations of women's bodies, sensuality, and lovemaking. Emma Donoghue's introduction deftly guides readers into the rich tradition of women's poetry in English, exploring the relationships between poets and their muses and poets and their cultures. Poems Between Women is testimony not only to the recurring theme of the unique bonds among women but also to the universality of love, friendship, and creativity.

About this edition

• Publisher: Columbia University Press
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0231109245
• ISBN 13: 9780231109246
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 256
• Editor: Donoghue Emma