Foreword
I had in mind when I started this project to compile a book of poetry, written by contemporary lesbians for contemporary lesbians in the tradition of Sappho, who in the 6-7th Century B.C.E., wrote tender love poetry and songs about women. By the third century B.C.E., some ten volumes of verse penned by Sappho had been collected. Unfortunately very little of her work is extant. Most of it was incinerated by the early Christian Church, first in 380 C.E., and then even more thoroughly in 1073 C.E., in an effort to suppress her work and influence. Only one entire poem remains intact. The rest of her extant works are fragments, the longest of which consists of sixteen lines. Everything that survived the fiery persecution of this great Poetess’ works survived as a result of references to and quotes of her poems in other works that escaped the reach of her persecutors.
Sappho, born circa 630 B.C.E. on the Greek island of Lesbos Lesbos . Indeed any inhabitant of Lesbos is considered a Lesbian, regardless of gender or sexual orientation. The poetic term Sapphic form, however, is used of the type of poetic meter in which Sappho wrote, rather than the content of her poems.
Sappho was the most famous female poet of her time and many argue that she is the most famous poetess of all time. In ancient times, when one referred to “the Poet,” it was known that the reference was to Homer, who penned both The Iliad and The Odyssey. When mention was made of “the Poetess,” it was commonly known that the reference was to Sappho.
All of this cultural history was in the back of my mind when I first established the branch of my UltraVioletLove.com website called “Sappho’s Corner,” and when I put out the call for submissions for a collection of poetry written by women in celebration of lesbian love, I was nearly overwhelmed by the response this call received. This first volume of poetry filled up quickly and led me to set aside the overflow of poems for an anticipated second volume, which is to be entitled, Wet Violets, and is slated for release in 2012. I am moved that so many women answered the call for submissions for this project, and I’m delighted that there will be at least two volumes to carry the Sappho’s Corner label. It has been in my mind for over a decade to honor Sappho in some tangible way as the founding mother of these ancient roots of tender lesbian love poetry. It is a dream come true to be able to do that with this first volume of verse “celebrating lesbian love in poetry.”
I offer my heartfelt thanks to all of the women who were brave enough to share their tender and often very personal poems with me and now with the world as well. Some needed a little coaxing, while others were ready and willing right at the start of this project. From start to finish, this has been a cooperative work, multi-cultural and international in scope. I couldn’t have brought this work to fruition so quickly without the cooperation of all the poets and artists who lent their talents to the effort. Thank you, ladies. I appreciate each and every one of you, and I’m delighted to have undertaken this project with you.
Thank you too to our readers for being brave enough to pick up a book of poetry written by a group of women, some who are occasional poets, and others who are prolific in writing verse. A number of the poets represented here are also novelists and writers of other genres. For a complete listing of each poet’s writing accomplishments, please refer to their bios at the beginning of their poetry selections and the back matter of this book.
Sending out a gigantic thank you to Nann Dunne, a modern day Sappho, who published an e-zine for eight years for lesbian authors and poets. She was Editor-in-Chief of JAW (Just About Write found at http://justaboutwrite.com). She helped promote the work of lesbian writers and poets through JAW. It was a sad day when she announced the impending closure of her publication. Thank you, Nann, for you all have done for the world of lesbian literature. Your publication will be greatly missed. JAW has been a modern day version of Sappho’s salon style celebration of lesbian talent.
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