ISSUE 9 - JUNE 2014

CONTENTS
Eloise Stonborough wrote a highly inspiring paragraph for Lavender Review, in which she says in part: “That’s why a journal devoted to lesbian poetry and art is vital: ...it makes visible the common themes between otherwise dissimilar writers and artists...” With Issue 9, I’ve decided, for the time being, to drop my practice of assigning themes to issues, and to let “common themes” emerge naturally. To tap into the lesbian collective unconscious of a group of my most-loved poets and artists, I invited them to contribute a poem or artwork of their choice. Would the poetry and art cohere into a unified issue? Would the poems speak to each other? Would the artworks speak to each other? Would the poetry speak to the art, and the art speak to the poetry? I'm deeply honored to include a poem by, and selected by, Naomi Replansky, who was born in 1918 and lives in New York (!!!!!!). The poems of a more historical nature on the page called “A Parisian Roof Garden in 1918” are in the public domain. The poems by Colleen McKee, Eleanor Lerman, Janice Gould, Judy Grahn, kathryn l. pringle, Nicole Brossard, Risa Denenberg, Rita Mae Reese, Robin Becker, and Suzanne Gardinier are making their first appearance here.

This issue is dedicated with love and thanks to Eloise Klein Healy. Here’s an excerpt from her poem “Working Towards Sappho”:

Whatever emerges, a poem
written by a lesbian poet
has a heritage of flame,
and no matter what Sappho was,
any woman who “comes out”
springs from a burned life
as a poem.


Mary Meriam, Editor
Lavender Review