Elana Dykewomon Selected GCLS 2022 Trailblazer


	View in browser

Elana Dykewomon is 2022 GCLS Trailblazer

From the Board President's Desk

Elana Dykewomon is the recipient of the 2022 Golden Crown Literary Society Trailblazer Award. The Trailblazer Award is granted for lifetime achievement and is presented each year to one author in recognition of contributions to sapphic and women loving women literature. Elana Dykewomon, an author, social justice activist, teacher, and editor, has been publishing novels, poetry, and short story collections since the 1970s. From 1987 to 1995 she served as editor for Sinister Wisdom, a lesbian literary, theory, and art journal. Her latest curated issue is “To Be a Jewish Dyke in the 21^st Century” which was published in January 2021. She has been described as "stirring up peace whenever she can".

With her 1974 groundbreaking, Lee Lynch Classic Award-winning novel Riverfinger Women, with her bold, prideful, courageous adoption of a name that proclaimed her lesbian identity, Elana Dykewomon is a Trailblazer of remarkable stature. The life she has led, and a body of work crowned by the multi-award-winning novel Beyond the Pale—surely one of our great novels—proclaim her a Trailblazer for all time. — Katherine V. Forrest

Elana Dykewomon, from her name to her writings has always been actively forging a path on which lesbians could live freely and healthily. Her novel Riverfinger Women threw open a door to lesbian life in a way that allowed womon to step through with pride. Her novel Beyond the Pale is a groundbreaking revelation of the lives and loves of immigrant women in the early part of the 20th century. Her poetry has the lyricism and lore which forever situates lesbians in the history of literature. — Jewell Gomez

I am here, I am who I am, and you can’t unsee me – that fearless presentation of self has been an inspiration to me from the first time I saw the name Elana Dykewomon on a bookstore shelf. The power of self-definition and the importance of knowing herstory are just two of the gifts from her that changed how I saw myself and my community. — Karin Kallmaker

Elana Dykewomon, through her talent, passion and bravery, has scorched an important path for so many to follow. Her ground breaking novels, Riverfinger Women and Beyond the Pale, are classics of lesbian literature. An editor and prolific writer, Elana's words, her teaching, and her activism have both challenged us and empowered us. Her legacy as a groundbreaking author is rightfully honored in the documentary film, In Her Words: 20th Century Lesbian Fiction. She truly is a Trailblazer. — Marianne K. Martin

Elana Dykewomon gave us one of the first lesbian classics of the post Stonewall era. Her subsequent work has cemented her reputation, shining with great intelligence and love of her community. I am proud that Elana Dykewoman has been recognized as a GCLS Trailblazer. — Lee Lynch

Elana was chosen for this award by the current GCLS Trailblazers who believe she is long overdue to join the ranks of the Trailblazers. Her award will be presented during the 18th Annual GCLS Goldie Award Ceremony held in Albuquerque on July 9th, 2022.

GCLS Trailblazers forged a path for the generations of authors that follow. The annual GCLS Goldie Awards recognize excellence in women loving women and sapphic literature. The 2022 Goldie Award Finalists list has just been released, adding new names and works to the growing register of high quality sapphic and women loving women literature.

Michele Reynolds
(they/them)
Board President

Share on Facebook

Share on Twitter

Forward email

Golden Crown Literary Society

P.O. Box 720154, Dallas
Texas 75372 United States

You received this email because you signed up on our website or made a purchase from us.

Unsubscribe