extracted text

..

.,

Property of the Center

LPM
<i0t7t£Ne,ws,
P~1lemtndsrs,

I114P~U~

I

I I

Malca-wPYeff'
J~2003

..

..

VOLUMNVIII, ISSUE7, July 2003

©2003MAKAW

Why are we so afraid of freedom?
by Marilda Mel White
This is the month we celebrate the anniversary of the birth of
our nation, which in turn began a long tradition of freedom for the
people of the United States. Of course, it took awhile before all
her people were free - including the original residents of the land
- but through the years, the Emancipation Act and a few Amendments have tried to make things more equitable.
We still struggle with the idea of freedom today, however,
and there are people who would argue that we're still not free. I
sometimes wonder if people can ever really, truly be absolutely
free; other times I wonder if we've already hit the pinnacle of possible human freedom and we've started back down the slippery
slope toward being a totally restricted society.
I also think sometimes that Americans - all Americans, including my gay and lesbian brothers and sisters - are just plain
scared of being free.
Oh sure, we all talk a good line - we fight wars for freedom,
we love to quote the freedom of speech amendment; we rally and
sing about living in the land of the free. We love to say we want
freedom for all the people in the world.
Which I think is pretty ludicrous since most of us don't even
want our neighbors to be free to paint their house the color they
want, or fix their own car in their own driveway, or park their motor home where it can be seen. We don't want our neighbors to be
able to make their own choices about seatbelts or helmets, or abortion or firearms, or even what to wear to school.
And we certainly don't want our neighbors to feel free to go
to a bar and dance by a pole, or to marrysomeone of the same sex,
2

or to take a little marijuana to ease their suffering. We don't want
our neighbors to be free to say a prayer in school or pledge allegiance to "one nation under God."
Closer to home, in a lifestyle sort of way, there are some of us
lesbians who don't want our sisters to be free to eat meat, or to
identify as butch or fem...or to be too androgynous. Some of us
sing songs about freedom and then turn right around and abuse our
sisters who think differently than we do.
We as a people, no matter on which side of the sexual orientation fence we stand, we seem to love the idea of being a freedomloving nation, as long as our friends and neighbors freely and lovingly conform to what we think is right. If, by chance, someone
might try to exercise his or her right to free expression, and it differs from what we think they should do or think, you can be sure
that any number of freedom-loving Americans will jump on the
bandwagon to create - or at least attempt to create - a law to
restrict those other people from being free.
Laws (and rules) are meant to restrict, and restriction is the
antithesis of freedom. How can we spout off about freedom and
then want to restrict not only our neighbors but ourselves as well
with more laws and rules? Why, I wonder, are we so afraid of
freedom?
It could be as simple as the fact that we don't want to think
our neighbors are freer thanwe are and are therefore having more
fun, or it could be as complex as the idea that we think we're
smarter than God (or any higher power, for that matter) and we
alone know what's best for the other gal and how to rein her in.
The trouble is, no matter who is in charge, or who gets to hold
the reins, the more restrictions there are, the less freedom there is
for everyone. You may be happy about a new law or covenant that
means your neighbor can't always do what she wants, especially
when it means your straight neighbor has been put in her place,
but every time you limit someone else's thoughts or actions, that
slope gets slipperier and you can bet your bottom dollar those restrictions will ultimately be used to curb your own freedoms as
well.
There is an old saying that goes "none of us is free until all of
us are free." I don't know who said it, but it was surly someone
ff)'
wise, and it surly applies to all of us. As we
celebrate the founding of our nation this
, .
month, we'd do well to remember that and
.\
not be so afraid of letting our friends and
~\
\
~
,
neighbors enjoy their freedoms as we like to
enjoy our own.
3

@»

®

9~2929?99W~i~W929W~??i

I celebrate the rainbow in myself
and the world

c;o1..m:.."I.:
l'HRF.Ans
i.i,,a 'lrorkho"itk-rl

and ll<!Wi'la

m»OOl{

d~t

Iii

.,.~

~i(.

.,,,:1li.J™'~fl,,_

DJ.i,!l_jij,;
.. ,.i diltt

-~...

l..dbml.

GOU) ~;N I1iJlFAIEi
(m j3t111.t

OJ.tdoom

pi,lolio:aou11

·Jnavcr~O.IUl!llllbr-n-

forl~1!.1Jn)•
f".1•1n~

m,nd.1.

broiuw Ill Ji,,r .,

•

. . .,.., □1..;, i. ~ m,:lm_
Sm,:111SASf io:

GOLDEN _ _ ___. S, P. O. Bol[ 1181
~lt
G.l ,~!!'ii-l US
for infonmti<m nnd ~pplic.ltion.

'Rea.a.e.,-

...~'l!'l~l!!ffl!

$3i.'lflll="1f'l' tl!.liinl ~ ~ l 'ii IIEld~"'"'1>
""110llhi=r~.SIO

J,fo~

l'S Mldiil>l·

Orn~ fat 1uaili~'1

ouo,:,~OOOQOOQO

I~

011tv<1~

livingand dying all at once.
My recognitionof the range within myself
helps me also to see others as parts of the
rontin:uum I don t neErl others to be at the
same pl.aceI am - my awn position shi.fts,as
everyone's does. In this fluid di.uersityis the
beauty of the rainbow. It colors the world and
challenges my efforts to harmonize.
Respecti.ngwho I am, I lookforward today
to where I will be tomorrow and 'honorwhere I
have been in the past. In my same-sexorientatkm, I expand the possi,biliti.esfor love. My being weaves
sparkling threads into the UJOndermentof the universe.

l"'M,LU;tle,
L~,,-tde.,

c-t.rull.l - ...,ldi~"i!-..mmra,nr.l

hu•~-~.-..-

The full spectrum of life calls to me. No longer do I see
myself in "either-or"terms. I love and hate; I teach and learn;
I am a healer and one who is being healed; I am parl. of huma:ni,tyyet ever alone;I dwnge while stayu,g the same; I am

U~

QQQQOQQOO

@

@

HAPPILYEVERAFTER
a book by Stacy Chandler
FREE to good l•sblan b.onN•I
$2 for po11tageto Spec:alaton, Inc.
PO Box 99038 1 Troy, Ml 48099

A 60-pagebooklet
chockfull of good
thoughts,positiveremindersand
inspirational
Messages;
only $5 postpaid,
such, deal!
MelWhite,
PO Box 130,
Tehachapi,CA 93561

- Eleanor Ruth Wagner
in Lavender Reflections

............................................f

~-------------------------------~

:: GAYELLOW PAGES informing the lesbian, gay, bisexual & trans-::
11gender community since 1973, Includes Women's Section and Eth- 11
11nle/Multlcultural section "You won't find a more complete guide cov- 11
11erlng flterally all aspects of Gay and Lesbian life" Our World
11
11
http://gayellowpages.com
11
11
RenaissanceHouse, PO Box 533 Village Station, New York, NY
11
11
10014 (or ask at your local feminist bookstore)
11
1
'. iii iii iii iii ii iii iii iii iii iii iii iii iii iii iii iii iii iii iii iii iii iii iii iii iii iii ii iii iii iii -.•

LAVENDER REFLECTIONS
by Eleanor Ruth Wagner,

Retnemberi11gs
ilnd CelebrJtlol1s,

A book of affirmations for
lesbians and gay men;
Meditations & quotations;
photos & holiday entries
$10,95 (post paid)
from author.
5529 Vernon Ave S,
Minneapolis, MN 55436

Lovi11g
kmtndet5 of the
G~Jt Mother's Voice
availablcthtough
RobynPosln,
Box725, Ojai, CA 93024

I

Reminder:

Giving that depletes you

can never truly be
nourishing to another ...
when you give more than you can,
you come to need more than you can find
anywhere outside of your now depleted self ...

l

practice ta.king better ca.re of you/

a 64-Q t4 4cckof

-Robyn Posin
Remembering• and Celebrations
•

www.forthelitUeon.sinside.com

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

•

805-646-4518

www.futthclittlconeslnsl4e.com
A1kfut A Cmlog of r1e1sures

Love, wthe,~

refr~

U\I Ufe,.

-Pablc-P~
4

5

GOODNEWS FOR SOME JS GOODNEWS

------------------~~----------------Family Pride Coal.itionCommends
Supreme CourtDecision

The Family Pride Coalition commends the United State's Supreme Court ruling which struck down the Texas sodomy law by a
vote of 6-3, saying the law was an unconstitutional violation of privacy and also violated due process guarantees.
The U.S. Supreme Court considered the constitutionality of the
Texas "Homosexual Conduct'' law, which criminalized oral and anal
sex between consenting gay couples. The June 26th ruling also overthrows sodomy laws in all 13 states where they had existed, and not
just the four states - Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri - that
had discriminatory sodomy laws that only outlawed same-sex
"sodomy."
Lambda Legal argued the case - Lawrenceand Gamer v. Texas
- before the United States Supreme Court. Justices Anthony Kennedy, John Paul Stevens, David Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and
Stephen Breyer and Sandra Day O'Connor voted in the majority.
Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist and Justices Antonin Scalia and
Clarence Thomas dissented.
"Today, the Supreme Court ruled for fairness for all Americans,"
said Aimee Gelnaw, executive director of the Family Pride Coalition.
"After years of this antiquated law being applied with prejudice to gay
and lesbian Americans, it can no longer serve as an unjust barrier to
lesbians and gay men maintaining custody of their own children or
becoming foster or adoptive parents."
This year, the Family Pride Coalition was deeply involved in efforts to
defeat three anti-gayfoster care and adoption bills in Texas. The sodomy law
was uae,das a reference point in arguments against allowing lesbian and gay
Texans the opportunity to serve as foster and adoptive parents. Despite this
opposition, all three measures were defeated. The Family Pride Coalition is
the only national non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the well
being of lesbian, gay, bisexual and tronagender parents and their families
through mutual support, community collaboration and public understanding.

Cathedralof Hope CommendsSupreme Court
The Cathedral of Hope, the world's largest liberal Christian
church with a primary outreach to lesbians, gays and transgender people, applauds the U.S. Supreme Court for its courageous ruling today
in the Lawrence and Garner v. Texas case that strikes down the Texas
sodomy law.
"Today the Supreme Court made it clear that state governments
have no right to enshrine their prejudices in law," said Rev. Michael
6

FOR ALL (whether they know it yet or not)
S. Piazza,Dean of the Cathedral of Hope. "It is difficult to see how
any rational person can justify the government regulating private behavior between consenting adults. How could that behavior be legal
for some consenting adults (heterosexuals) and illegal for others
(homosexuals)? Obviously the majority of the Supreme Court recognized that all taxpayers deserve equal protection. We are grateful that
the law is at last catching up with the common sense of the American
people."

Soulforce ExpressesJubilationand Hopefor the Future
Leaders of Soulforce today express jubilation at the decision by
the United States Supreme Court in Lawrence v Texas overturning
Texas's sodomy law. Until the decision, it had been illegal in 13 states
for same-sex couples to engage in certain types of sexual behavior in
their own homes.
The Texas case began when police responded to a false report of
a weapons disturbance and busted into John Lawrence's home. Although the police found no weapons, they did find Mr. Lawrence with
Tyrone Garner engaged in sex and arrested them both. Texas courts
found both men guilty and the June 26th decision overturns those convictions.
"[It is] fantastic for all people because the Supreme Court has
recognized that our government has no place in our bedrooms, nor a
right to selectively single out people of minority sexual orientation for
criminal punishment," said Rev. Mel White, founder and director of
Soulforce, Inc (and no relation to this newsletter's editor). "Maybe
some churches that alienate and degrade us will see the light after
today as well."
The decision overturned both the Texas court decision in Lawrence v. Texas and thel986 Supreme Court decision in the Bowers v
Hardwick case that upheld Georgia sodomy laws. According to CNN,
the late Justice Lewis Powell, the deciding vote in the Bowers decision, later said he probably made a mistake with his decision on that
case. This decision corrected that mistake.
"I'm free, I'm free, I am no longer a criminal for who I love, I am
free to be who God created me to be," said Karen Weldin, Soulforce
Director of Operations. "I hope this gives people hiding in the closet
the sense of freedom and courage to come out and be proud of who
they are and who they love."
Sou/force, a national interfaith movement committed to endingspiritual violence
perpetuated by religious policies and teachings against gay, lesbian, bisexua~ and
transgender (GLBT). We teach and employ the principles of nonviolence as taught by
Gandhi and King to the liberation of sexual minorities. www.smllforce.org

7

by and © Lee Lynch

An Epidemic of Love
I just received an e-mail telling me that yet another woman I
know has cancer. In the past several months the toll from cancer in
my social circle has risen beyond already unacceptable levels breast, colon, uterine, lung, cervical. I suspect this is not a phenomenon I am experiencing alone. Surely it is an epidemic that
deserves as much attention as any ten hot warring countries.
Helpless is a weak description for what I feel, yet I have
learned that I can do something, I can be a friend We're all so
essentially alone when dealing with diseases of body and mind,
but I see this scourge uniting us in ways little else could. When I
heard that my ex's partner was ill, I spontaneously ended a year'slong silence with a note of support. Cancer is the great equalizer.
Differences and past angers pale next to the instinct for clan-wide
survival.
So we send energy and green healing light, visualize a
healthy, thriving friend, embark on a course of meditations or
prayer and donate whatever we can in the way of money or time
- weaving all of this into a fabric we use to wrap our friends in
love. Around here, we're getting good at this.
Over time a sort of crone's resource kit with healing rituals
for radiation and chemotherapy and special diets rich with
strengthening nutrients will evolve. Even now organimtions are
coordinating services like hospital visits, rides to appointments,
home visits, housekeeping, gardening, pet care, laundry, meal
preparation and help with confusing medical bills or insurance
problems.•
Is the raging current of cancer a product of aging? All of the
diagnoses I'm hearing about have come to women in their 50s and
older. Maybe this is normal and only new to me because these are
my contemporaries. Is it a sign that we are taking better care of
ourselves and going to the doctor so the cancers are being caught
earlier? This would be good news in terms of survival. Is it a sign
that the medical establishment has responded to feminist pressure
and is paying attention to something besides prostrates and male
hearts? Have the medical schools accepted and trained more
women physicians than they used to and are these women now
listening to women patients as we have never been listened to before?
8

Probably these are all factors in what feels like an awfully
high incidence of cancer around me. But what I fear is that this is
no statistical fluke reflecting better, earlier reporting. I fear that as
our planet gets more polluted, as our foods become more processed, as corporations change the very chemistry of what we ingest and breathe, that we are the guinea pigs of a radical future
designed for profit, not people. I fear our bodies are failing to
adapt to an atmosphere in which space explorers would refuse to
land without heavy-duty protective gear. I hope I'm wrong.
Whether there is an increase in cancer (and I no longer trust
our government to report this) or I have simply reached an age
when illness becomes more common, I have a challenge before
me. The lives of my friends are seriously disrupted and they need
help. What I see evolving is lesbian family like I have never seen
before. And not just lesbian - neighbors, people at work, estranged in-laws, childhood buddies from across the country everyone wants to help. It's like a blizz.ard,when the whole block
comes out with shovels and hot chocolate and good cheer. I hear a
collective belief that positive thought and huge amounts of love
can heal, or at least prolong life. Even when it's time for someone
to go, the caring remains to carry the survivors through grief.
More than one friend has told me that although it's no fun,
having cancer taught her a lot. It's teaching me too. Of course its
prevalence in my life leads me to worry Whatwill I do if ... ?
I start thinking about how home is where, if you have to go
there, they have to take you in, and get depressed about going
backwards toward my relatives who have enough on their hands
without the return of the never popular family queer. But I don't
see that happening. I see families I never knew were there being
created and expanded. I see all kinds of help, from the national
Mautner Project for lesbians to local groups to pharmaceutical
giants that make drugs available at little or no cost..
I sure hope no one else in my life ever gets cancer, but now I
know that when the cure is found, it won't be the only miracle
inspired by this disease.
© Lee Lynch 2003

*Foundedin 1990, the Mautner Project is the only national organizationdedicatedto lesbianswith cancer, their partners and
caregivers.
TheMautnerProject
1707L StreetNW, Suite 230 Washington,DC 20036
Voiceffl'Y 202-332-5536 Fax 202-332-0662
E-Mailmautner@mautnerproject.org
9

In memoryof a veryspecialwoman:my mother
by Marilda K. (Mel) White
It was Swidaymorning,early. 6:00. I woke up and checked on
Mom. She was sleeping,but she did not respondto me.
I sat with her awhile,and I told her it was all right for her to go.
She left this world almostimmediately.It was somethingwe had discussed before, but saying it out loud at that momentwas one of the
hardestthings I've ever had to do.
Her passing was the inevitableend to her battle with pancreatic
cancer,but knowingit was comingdid not make it any easier. I have
lost my mother and my best friend, and this world has lost one of its
brightestlights.
I don't know that my mother ever really knew how incredibly
specialshe was, but maybethat was to be expected- she was always
the type of woman who steeredattentionaway from herself and onto
others. Perhaps that was what endearedher to so many people... or
maybethey werejust drawnto her sunnysmile,or her optimisticattitude, or her cheerful spirit. At any rate, my mother has always been
the kind of personotherpeoplelike to be around.
She did not necessarilyhave an easy life, but she made it a good
one. She knew her share of heartacheand pain, and yet she was the
one who first and always taught me to look on the bright side. I'm
told that times were lean when I was small,but I neverknew it at the
time. I just rememberthe good times we had - all of my fondest
childhoodmemoriesare centeredarowidmy mother.
Life got harder for Mom as we all grew older. She acceptedme
and my lesbianism,even though she never really widerstoodit and
even though it ultimatelymeant no grandchildrenfor her. She dealt
with the illness and eventualtotal disabilityof her yowigerdaughter,
and she cared for her own elderlymother when my grandfatherdied.
She nursedmy father throughseveralheart attacks,back surgeriesand
his final days with congestiveheart failure. She suffered her own
heart attack and angioplasty,and a thyroid surgerythat robbedher of
a beautifulsingingvoice. And she battled - and beat - breast cancer twice.
The pancreaticcancer may have won out in the end, but Mom
staved it off for a good long while. A week after my father died she
learnedof the cancer,and the doctorstold her she probablyhad about
six monthsleft. Thatwas almostthreeyears ago.
She met this latest challengewith the same dignityand optimism
with whichshe has met any other challenge.The diagnosiswas devastating when we heard it, but Mom kept her sense of humor and her
spirit of adventure,and we got on with the business of living in the
10

J

I

i

here and now - not dreadingthe future - and making the most of
whatevertime she had left. Even on the day before she died, though
she was so weak she could hardly speak, she manageda joke and a
smile.
Throughgood times and bad in her life, right up to the end, Mom
always maintainedher sense of wonder and enjoymentof life. And
by her example, she taught me to dream and to learn, to enjoy and
appreciate,and to not be afraid to try new things. I will always be
gratefulto her for that
And I will alwaysbe gratefulthat Mom and I got someextra time
togetherover the past coupleof years, during which time we laughed
a lot and cried a lot and got to know each other even better. My
mother was such an important and integral part of my life, and
throughthis last extendedexperiencewith her - on her own turf, in
her home in Tehachapi, California- I've received the additional
blessing of seeing for myself how she touched the lives of so many
other peopleas well.
My mother was a genuinelygood person, an incrediblyspecial
woman, whethershe ever knew it or not. Right now I am happy for
the long and full life she made for herself,and I am filled with sadness at losing her - I only hope I can honor her life by living up to
her legacy.@

Foret1erything
thereis a season,
and a time fur et1ery
mannerunderheaven:
a time to be born,anda time to die;
a time to plant,and a time to pluckup what is planted;
a time to kill,and a time to heal;
a time to breakdown,anda time to buildup;
a time to weep,and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn,anda time to dance;
a time to castawa, stones,
and a time to gatherstones toget~r;
anda time to refrainfromembracing;
a time to embrace,
a time to seek,and a time to lose;
a time to keep,anda timeto castaway;
a time to rend,anda time to sew;
a time to keepsilence,and a time to speak;
a time to looe,and a time to hate;
a time forwar,and a time fur peace.
&cle.1ia.1te.1
3: 1-9,RevisedStandardVer!ion

11

r!Jn~acred groun
by zind (C:)lov Pzirk:i

ReadingBeaver
Ok, I apologize for the title. But I simply couldn1t resist. The beaver (as in Castorcanadensis)is a national symbol of Canada, right up
there in prominence with the Maple Leaf and the Royal Canadian
Mounted Police (better known as the Mounties). July 1st will mark
my 40th Canada Day (sort of like Independence Day, but much quieter). And as an American who has lived in Canada most of her life,
sometimes I forget that it really is different here. Quieter. Gentler.
More tolerant of diversity. The national health program means we can
afford to get sick. There's real gun control, finnly entrenched government policies that protect gay rights and socially responsible democratic rule thanks to the prevailing Liberal Party, which drew a line in
the sand over the Iraq war and has openly demonstrated disdain for
the current American administration. That certainly makes up for the
cold winters, undervalued dollar and being able to get only a few flavors of Ben & Jerry's. Frankly, Canada isn't such a bad place to be if
you're gay or lesbian and it's home to some wonderfully lesbian writers, like Karen X. Tulchinsky, Ivan Coyote, Helen Humphries and
Jane Rule. Which is a good reason to take a look at some new books
by lesbian writers that are worthy of attention on both sides of the
4 9th parallel.
Nicole Brossard is one of the most influential French-Canadian writers in Canada. And one of the few who is also known to many English-speaking readers. Her writing is highly experimental, linguistically subversive, inherently sexual and openly lesbian - even when
she's not writing about lesbian subjects. She is the author of more
than 20 books of poetry, fiction and essays and is considered a visionary in feminism and post-modernism. The recent publication of The
Blue Books (so named because the books were originally issued in
plain blue covers) is a collection of her three best known works, A
Book, Tum of a Pang and FrenchKiss. And it's a perfect introduction to her writings.
Describing Brossard' s work, at least the meticulous English
translations of her original writings in French, isn't easy. Reminiscent
of the wonderfully chaotic non-linear prose of feminist theorist Mary
12

Daly and the exploratory post-coming out poems of Adrienne Rich,
Brossard writes a great deal about the relationship between women,
sexuality and language, and the need to break open old forms to describe those things which are not permitted description. There's an
eroticism to even her most intellectual pieces, a sexual energy that
permeates every line. Nicole Brossard is not for everyone and her
work isn 1t a particularly easy read. But there is something so powerful
in her creativity with language, her openness and her underlying ideas
on the politics of language that make TheBlue Booksworth the effort.
(The Blue Books, by Nicole Brossard, Coach House Press, $19.95/
$24.95 Canadian)
Ironically, the most visible and revolutionary publisher of lesbian
books in Canada is not a specifically lesbian or gay publishing house.
As part of their extremely varied list of titles, Arsenal Pulp Press in
Vancouver is making great strives in ensuring that the work of Canadian lesbian writers gets to the right readers. Arsenal is probably best
known for its best-selling Hot and Bothered series, edited by Karen
X. Tolchinsky and its Lambda-nominated anthology, Brazen Femme.
The press continues to bravely stake new ground in the genre of lesbian erotica with its recent QuixoticErotic by Tamai Kobayashi.
Again, no standard linear prose here, Kobayashi skillfully writes
in a melodic, poetic style that is extremely powerful and manages to
convey the essences of a variety of sexual encounters, rather than just
describe the act. There's a great deal of emphasis placed on plot and
setting and characterization, which infuses the writing with much intimacy. QuixoticErotic depicts sexuality in a unique voice and is a
valuable
contribution
of lesbian
erotic
writing.
(QuixoticErotic, by Tamai Kobayashi, Arsenal Pulp Press $15.95/
$19.95 Canadian

Sacred Classic:Desert of the Heart by Jane Rule
Jane Rule didn 1t start out as a Canadian, but the New Jersey native
has made her home on Canada's west coast for nearly half a century.
And Desert of the Heart (which Donna Deitch lovingly crafted into
feature film DesertHearts ) is one of the most poignant lesbian love
stories ever written. Set against the arid landscape of the Nevada desert and the garish lights of Reno, Evelyn falls in love with the beautiful, complicated and much younger Ann while waiting out her divorce. Rule knows that the most vividly erotic scenes are the ones in
the reader's mind, and her understated, finely crafted prose and sensitivity to the awakening experiences of a woman coming out in mid
life is impossible to resist. Also fascinating is how Rule bravely raises
the issue of maternal feelings within an intergenerational lesbian reconttnuedpage JS

13

Sal>Pho•s
SolutiotlS
uccessfuILiving

..

-

y and CC>Stacy Chandler

• ••

Dear Savvy ~ppho, I've been single all my life, but now I'm
taking the plunge into coupledom. Any advice? - Soon to be
''Ours"

DearSoon,Developthreedevinequalities:1. Shareeverything;2. Thinkaboutwhatyourotherwoulddofirst;and3.
Loveunconditionally.
- SS
Dear Savvy Sappho, My lover just added a piranha to my Angel fish aquarium. Should I worry? - Jumpy

DearJumpy,Removethe newfish andput it intoa separate
tank. Your lovermay havejust made an uninformed(and
bad)purchase.To be sure,you'd betterask her pointblank
whatherintentionswere.- SS

©©©©©©©©©©©00©00©©©©©©00©©©©©©©©©

~~%i~~~J,~
-¢1.J;L

by and© Stacy Chandler

*BEWARNED- THE VIEWS EXPRESSEDABOVE DO NOT
NECESSARILYREFLECTTHE AURA OF THE COSMOS!

14

-Call/or w

M

111U
001

r
v, ~, .

• Writers, photographers, poets, artists, cartoonists - alf·c~,,z.c.
works are we1come as submissions for the upcoming Lesbir
f'nPrideReaders.The only criteria is that the works be positive,
upbeat, or inspirationaJ,focusing on the brighter side of being a
lesbian.
• •• You must submit original works, but previously published
'works are acceptable. Fiction should be 5,000 words or less;
essays 1000 words or less (shorter is always better!). Poems
should be limited to 40 lines or less. Drawings, photos and cartoons should reproduce well in black and white (color is not in
the plans at this time).
Also welcome are quotes, thoughts, paragraphs - any
form of writing as long as you are the creator and own the
rights to your work.
One-time rights are requested by Makaw Press (the publisher of this newsletter and the upcoming Readers);all rights
revert back to you upon publication. Compensation will be in
the form of complimentary copies of the Readerin which your
work appears.
Don't send originals - send a copy; your work will not be
returned to you unless you have included a self-addressed
stamped envelope. Work may be submitted by mail or email:
Makaw, PO Box 130, Tehachapi, CA 93561 or Momingland@msn.com.

1ionship,a subjectfew writers even now would have the courageto
tackle.Desertof the Heart wasan open declarationof lesbianexperience when it was first publishedin 1964,and is now on the required
reading list of many women's writing coursesat Canadianuniversities. The storyis unforgettableand the writingis breathtakinglybeautiful, makingDesertof the Heart mostcertainlya sacredclassic.

1}

Moody moon child of the night,
Life phases change as well as plights.
Bid Fare-Thee-Well and a firm Good Night
To Imagined fears and unknown blights.*

lll

On Sacred Grow,d- continuedfrom page 1J

..
,

·~~lJ.

CANCER
June 22 - July 22

•.

••

': .............................................
.
~M~
:
.
:

Mel White/MAKAW Press,owner/publisher

•

:
•
:
:

O 2003 All Rights Reserved
For permissionto reprint or use any of the content, contact:
Mel White, PO Box 130, Tehachapi, California 93561
momingland@msn.com
www.morningland.net

:
:
•

~

:•

..............................................
~

15

----------------

______________
....

.._

,

POB~130
T~v,

.
------------------.,
----------------w --------

.:

...-

CA 93561

Address correction requested

r

HERLAND (PE02-12)
HERLAND
2312 NW 39TH
OKLAHOMA CITY OK 73112



..

.,

Property of the Center

LPM
<i0t7t£Ne,ws,
P~1lemtndsrs,

I114P~U~

I

I I

Malca-wPYeff'
J~2003

..

..

VOLUMNVIII, ISSUE7, July 2003

©2003MAKAW

Why are we so afraid of freedom?
by Marilda Mel White
This is the month we celebrate the anniversary of the birth of
our nation, which in turn began a long tradition of freedom for the
people of the United States. Of course, it took awhile before all
her people were free - including the original residents of the land
- but through the years, the Emancipation Act and a few Amendments have tried to make things more equitable.
We still struggle with the idea of freedom today, however,
and there are people who would argue that we're still not free. I
sometimes wonder if people can ever really, truly be absolutely
free; other times I wonder if we've already hit the pinnacle of possible human freedom and we've started back down the slippery
slope toward being a totally restricted society.
I also think sometimes that Americans - all Americans, including my gay and lesbian brothers and sisters - are just plain
scared of being free.
Oh sure, we all talk a good line - we fight wars for freedom,
we love to quote the freedom of speech amendment; we rally and
sing about living in the land of the free. We love to say we want
freedom for all the people in the world.
Which I think is pretty ludicrous since most of us don't even
want our neighbors to be free to paint their house the color they
want, or fix their own car in their own driveway, or park their motor home where it can be seen. We don't want our neighbors to be
able to make their own choices about seatbelts or helmets, or abortion or firearms, or even what to wear to school.
And we certainly don't want our neighbors to feel free to go
to a bar and dance by a pole, or to marrysomeone of the same sex,
2

or to take a little marijuana to ease their suffering. We don't want
our neighbors to be free to say a prayer in school or pledge allegiance to "one nation under God."
Closer to home, in a lifestyle sort of way, there are some of us
lesbians who don't want our sisters to be free to eat meat, or to
identify as butch or fem...or to be too androgynous. Some of us
sing songs about freedom and then turn right around and abuse our
sisters who think differently than we do.
We as a people, no matter on which side of the sexual orientation fence we stand, we seem to love the idea of being a freedomloving nation, as long as our friends and neighbors freely and lovingly conform to what we think is right. If, by chance, someone
might try to exercise his or her right to free expression, and it differs from what we think they should do or think, you can be sure
that any number of freedom-loving Americans will jump on the
bandwagon to create - or at least attempt to create - a law to
restrict those other people from being free.
Laws (and rules) are meant to restrict, and restriction is the
antithesis of freedom. How can we spout off about freedom and
then want to restrict not only our neighbors but ourselves as well
with more laws and rules? Why, I wonder, are we so afraid of
freedom?
It could be as simple as the fact that we don't want to think
our neighbors are freer thanwe are and are therefore having more
fun, or it could be as complex as the idea that we think we're
smarter than God (or any higher power, for that matter) and we
alone know what's best for the other gal and how to rein her in.
The trouble is, no matter who is in charge, or who gets to hold
the reins, the more restrictions there are, the less freedom there is
for everyone. You may be happy about a new law or covenant that
means your neighbor can't always do what she wants, especially
when it means your straight neighbor has been put in her place,
but every time you limit someone else's thoughts or actions, that
slope gets slipperier and you can bet your bottom dollar those restrictions will ultimately be used to curb your own freedoms as
well.
There is an old saying that goes "none of us is free until all of
us are free." I don't know who said it, but it was surly someone
ff)'
wise, and it surly applies to all of us. As we
celebrate the founding of our nation this
, .
month, we'd do well to remember that and
.\
not be so afraid of letting our friends and
~\
\
~
,
neighbors enjoy their freedoms as we like to
enjoy our own.
3

@»

®

9~2929?99W~i~W929W~??i

I celebrate the rainbow in myself
and the world

c;o1..m:.."I.:
l'HRF.Ans
i.i,,a 'lrorkho"itk-rl

and ll<!Wi'la

m»OOl{

d~t

Iii

.,.~

~i(.

.,,,:1li.J™'~fl,,_

DJ.i,!l_jij,;
.. ,.i diltt

-~...

l..dbml.

GOU) ~;N I1iJlFAIEi
(m j3t111.t

OJ.tdoom

pi,lolio:aou11

·Jnavcr~O.IUl!llllbr-n-

forl~1!.1Jn)•
f".1•1n~

m,nd.1.

broiuw Ill Ji,,r .,

•

. . .,.., □1..;, i. ~ m,:lm_
Sm,:111SASf io:

GOLDEN _ _ ___. S, P. O. Bol[ 1181
~lt
G.l ,~!!'ii-l US
for infonmti<m nnd ~pplic.ltion.

'Rea.a.e.,-

...~'l!'l~l!!ffl!

$3i.'lflll="1f'l' tl!.liinl ~ ~ l 'ii IIEld~"'"'1>
""110llhi=r~.SIO

J,fo~

l'S Mldiil>l·

Orn~ fat 1uaili~'1

ouo,:,~OOOQOOQO

I~

011tv<1~

livingand dying all at once.
My recognitionof the range within myself
helps me also to see others as parts of the
rontin:uum I don t neErl others to be at the
same pl.aceI am - my awn position shi.fts,as
everyone's does. In this fluid di.uersityis the
beauty of the rainbow. It colors the world and
challenges my efforts to harmonize.
Respecti.ngwho I am, I lookforward today
to where I will be tomorrow and 'honorwhere I
have been in the past. In my same-sexorientatkm, I expand the possi,biliti.esfor love. My being weaves
sparkling threads into the UJOndermentof the universe.

l"'M,LU;tle,
L~,,-tde.,

c-t.rull.l - ...,ldi~"i!-..mmra,nr.l

hu•~-~.-..-

The full spectrum of life calls to me. No longer do I see
myself in "either-or"terms. I love and hate; I teach and learn;
I am a healer and one who is being healed; I am parl. of huma:ni,tyyet ever alone;I dwnge while stayu,g the same; I am

U~

QQQQOQQOO

@

@

HAPPILYEVERAFTER
a book by Stacy Chandler
FREE to good l•sblan b.onN•I
$2 for po11tageto Spec:alaton, Inc.
PO Box 99038 1 Troy, Ml 48099

A 60-pagebooklet
chockfull of good
thoughts,positiveremindersand
inspirational
Messages;
only $5 postpaid,
such, deal!
MelWhite,
PO Box 130,
Tehachapi,CA 93561

- Eleanor Ruth Wagner
in Lavender Reflections

............................................f

~-------------------------------~

:: GAYELLOW PAGES informing the lesbian, gay, bisexual & trans-::
11gender community since 1973, Includes Women's Section and Eth- 11
11nle/Multlcultural section "You won't find a more complete guide cov- 11
11erlng flterally all aspects of Gay and Lesbian life" Our World
11
11
http://gayellowpages.com
11
11
RenaissanceHouse, PO Box 533 Village Station, New York, NY
11
11
10014 (or ask at your local feminist bookstore)
11
1
'. iii iii iii iii ii iii iii iii iii iii iii iii iii iii iii iii iii iii iii iii iii iii iii iii iii iii ii iii iii iii -.•

LAVENDER REFLECTIONS
by Eleanor Ruth Wagner,

Retnemberi11gs
ilnd CelebrJtlol1s,

A book of affirmations for
lesbians and gay men;
Meditations & quotations;
photos & holiday entries
$10,95 (post paid)
from author.
5529 Vernon Ave S,
Minneapolis, MN 55436

Lovi11g
kmtndet5 of the
G~Jt Mother's Voice
availablcthtough
RobynPosln,
Box725, Ojai, CA 93024

I

Reminder:

Giving that depletes you

can never truly be
nourishing to another ...
when you give more than you can,
you come to need more than you can find
anywhere outside of your now depleted self ...

l

practice ta.king better ca.re of you/

a 64-Q t4 4cckof

-Robyn Posin
Remembering• and Celebrations
•

www.forthelitUeon.sinside.com

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

•

805-646-4518

www.futthclittlconeslnsl4e.com
A1kfut A Cmlog of r1e1sures

Love, wthe,~

refr~

U\I Ufe,.

-Pablc-P~
4

5

GOODNEWS FOR SOME JS GOODNEWS

------------------~~----------------Family Pride Coal.itionCommends
Supreme CourtDecision

The Family Pride Coalition commends the United State's Supreme Court ruling which struck down the Texas sodomy law by a
vote of 6-3, saying the law was an unconstitutional violation of privacy and also violated due process guarantees.
The U.S. Supreme Court considered the constitutionality of the
Texas "Homosexual Conduct'' law, which criminalized oral and anal
sex between consenting gay couples. The June 26th ruling also overthrows sodomy laws in all 13 states where they had existed, and not
just the four states - Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri - that
had discriminatory sodomy laws that only outlawed same-sex
"sodomy."
Lambda Legal argued the case - Lawrenceand Gamer v. Texas
- before the United States Supreme Court. Justices Anthony Kennedy, John Paul Stevens, David Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and
Stephen Breyer and Sandra Day O'Connor voted in the majority.
Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist and Justices Antonin Scalia and
Clarence Thomas dissented.
"Today, the Supreme Court ruled for fairness for all Americans,"
said Aimee Gelnaw, executive director of the Family Pride Coalition.
"After years of this antiquated law being applied with prejudice to gay
and lesbian Americans, it can no longer serve as an unjust barrier to
lesbians and gay men maintaining custody of their own children or
becoming foster or adoptive parents."
This year, the Family Pride Coalition was deeply involved in efforts to
defeat three anti-gayfoster care and adoption bills in Texas. The sodomy law
was uae,das a reference point in arguments against allowing lesbian and gay
Texans the opportunity to serve as foster and adoptive parents. Despite this
opposition, all three measures were defeated. The Family Pride Coalition is
the only national non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the well
being of lesbian, gay, bisexual and tronagender parents and their families
through mutual support, community collaboration and public understanding.

Cathedralof Hope CommendsSupreme Court
The Cathedral of Hope, the world's largest liberal Christian
church with a primary outreach to lesbians, gays and transgender people, applauds the U.S. Supreme Court for its courageous ruling today
in the Lawrence and Garner v. Texas case that strikes down the Texas
sodomy law.
"Today the Supreme Court made it clear that state governments
have no right to enshrine their prejudices in law," said Rev. Michael
6

FOR ALL (whether they know it yet or not)
S. Piazza,Dean of the Cathedral of Hope. "It is difficult to see how
any rational person can justify the government regulating private behavior between consenting adults. How could that behavior be legal
for some consenting adults (heterosexuals) and illegal for others
(homosexuals)? Obviously the majority of the Supreme Court recognized that all taxpayers deserve equal protection. We are grateful that
the law is at last catching up with the common sense of the American
people."

Soulforce ExpressesJubilationand Hopefor the Future
Leaders of Soulforce today express jubilation at the decision by
the United States Supreme Court in Lawrence v Texas overturning
Texas's sodomy law. Until the decision, it had been illegal in 13 states
for same-sex couples to engage in certain types of sexual behavior in
their own homes.
The Texas case began when police responded to a false report of
a weapons disturbance and busted into John Lawrence's home. Although the police found no weapons, they did find Mr. Lawrence with
Tyrone Garner engaged in sex and arrested them both. Texas courts
found both men guilty and the June 26th decision overturns those convictions.
"[It is] fantastic for all people because the Supreme Court has
recognized that our government has no place in our bedrooms, nor a
right to selectively single out people of minority sexual orientation for
criminal punishment," said Rev. Mel White, founder and director of
Soulforce, Inc (and no relation to this newsletter's editor). "Maybe
some churches that alienate and degrade us will see the light after
today as well."
The decision overturned both the Texas court decision in Lawrence v. Texas and thel986 Supreme Court decision in the Bowers v
Hardwick case that upheld Georgia sodomy laws. According to CNN,
the late Justice Lewis Powell, the deciding vote in the Bowers decision, later said he probably made a mistake with his decision on that
case. This decision corrected that mistake.
"I'm free, I'm free, I am no longer a criminal for who I love, I am
free to be who God created me to be," said Karen Weldin, Soulforce
Director of Operations. "I hope this gives people hiding in the closet
the sense of freedom and courage to come out and be proud of who
they are and who they love."
Sou/force, a national interfaith movement committed to endingspiritual violence
perpetuated by religious policies and teachings against gay, lesbian, bisexua~ and
transgender (GLBT). We teach and employ the principles of nonviolence as taught by
Gandhi and King to the liberation of sexual minorities. www.smllforce.org

7

by and © Lee Lynch

An Epidemic of Love
I just received an e-mail telling me that yet another woman I
know has cancer. In the past several months the toll from cancer in
my social circle has risen beyond already unacceptable levels breast, colon, uterine, lung, cervical. I suspect this is not a phenomenon I am experiencing alone. Surely it is an epidemic that
deserves as much attention as any ten hot warring countries.
Helpless is a weak description for what I feel, yet I have
learned that I can do something, I can be a friend We're all so
essentially alone when dealing with diseases of body and mind,
but I see this scourge uniting us in ways little else could. When I
heard that my ex's partner was ill, I spontaneously ended a year'slong silence with a note of support. Cancer is the great equalizer.
Differences and past angers pale next to the instinct for clan-wide
survival.
So we send energy and green healing light, visualize a
healthy, thriving friend, embark on a course of meditations or
prayer and donate whatever we can in the way of money or time
- weaving all of this into a fabric we use to wrap our friends in
love. Around here, we're getting good at this.
Over time a sort of crone's resource kit with healing rituals
for radiation and chemotherapy and special diets rich with
strengthening nutrients will evolve. Even now organimtions are
coordinating services like hospital visits, rides to appointments,
home visits, housekeeping, gardening, pet care, laundry, meal
preparation and help with confusing medical bills or insurance
problems.•
Is the raging current of cancer a product of aging? All of the
diagnoses I'm hearing about have come to women in their 50s and
older. Maybe this is normal and only new to me because these are
my contemporaries. Is it a sign that we are taking better care of
ourselves and going to the doctor so the cancers are being caught
earlier? This would be good news in terms of survival. Is it a sign
that the medical establishment has responded to feminist pressure
and is paying attention to something besides prostrates and male
hearts? Have the medical schools accepted and trained more
women physicians than they used to and are these women now
listening to women patients as we have never been listened to before?
8

Probably these are all factors in what feels like an awfully
high incidence of cancer around me. But what I fear is that this is
no statistical fluke reflecting better, earlier reporting. I fear that as
our planet gets more polluted, as our foods become more processed, as corporations change the very chemistry of what we ingest and breathe, that we are the guinea pigs of a radical future
designed for profit, not people. I fear our bodies are failing to
adapt to an atmosphere in which space explorers would refuse to
land without heavy-duty protective gear. I hope I'm wrong.
Whether there is an increase in cancer (and I no longer trust
our government to report this) or I have simply reached an age
when illness becomes more common, I have a challenge before
me. The lives of my friends are seriously disrupted and they need
help. What I see evolving is lesbian family like I have never seen
before. And not just lesbian - neighbors, people at work, estranged in-laws, childhood buddies from across the country everyone wants to help. It's like a blizz.ard,when the whole block
comes out with shovels and hot chocolate and good cheer. I hear a
collective belief that positive thought and huge amounts of love
can heal, or at least prolong life. Even when it's time for someone
to go, the caring remains to carry the survivors through grief.
More than one friend has told me that although it's no fun,
having cancer taught her a lot. It's teaching me too. Of course its
prevalence in my life leads me to worry Whatwill I do if ... ?
I start thinking about how home is where, if you have to go
there, they have to take you in, and get depressed about going
backwards toward my relatives who have enough on their hands
without the return of the never popular family queer. But I don't
see that happening. I see families I never knew were there being
created and expanded. I see all kinds of help, from the national
Mautner Project for lesbians to local groups to pharmaceutical
giants that make drugs available at little or no cost..
I sure hope no one else in my life ever gets cancer, but now I
know that when the cure is found, it won't be the only miracle
inspired by this disease.
© Lee Lynch 2003

*Foundedin 1990, the Mautner Project is the only national organizationdedicatedto lesbianswith cancer, their partners and
caregivers.
TheMautnerProject
1707L StreetNW, Suite 230 Washington,DC 20036
Voiceffl'Y 202-332-5536 Fax 202-332-0662
E-Mailmautner@mautnerproject.org
9

In memoryof a veryspecialwoman:my mother
by Marilda K. (Mel) White
It was Swidaymorning,early. 6:00. I woke up and checked on
Mom. She was sleeping,but she did not respondto me.
I sat with her awhile,and I told her it was all right for her to go.
She left this world almostimmediately.It was somethingwe had discussed before, but saying it out loud at that momentwas one of the
hardestthings I've ever had to do.
Her passing was the inevitableend to her battle with pancreatic
cancer,but knowingit was comingdid not make it any easier. I have
lost my mother and my best friend, and this world has lost one of its
brightestlights.
I don't know that my mother ever really knew how incredibly
specialshe was, but maybethat was to be expected- she was always
the type of woman who steeredattentionaway from herself and onto
others. Perhaps that was what endearedher to so many people... or
maybethey werejust drawnto her sunnysmile,or her optimisticattitude, or her cheerful spirit. At any rate, my mother has always been
the kind of personotherpeoplelike to be around.
She did not necessarilyhave an easy life, but she made it a good
one. She knew her share of heartacheand pain, and yet she was the
one who first and always taught me to look on the bright side. I'm
told that times were lean when I was small,but I neverknew it at the
time. I just rememberthe good times we had - all of my fondest
childhoodmemoriesare centeredarowidmy mother.
Life got harder for Mom as we all grew older. She acceptedme
and my lesbianism,even though she never really widerstoodit and
even though it ultimatelymeant no grandchildrenfor her. She dealt
with the illness and eventualtotal disabilityof her yowigerdaughter,
and she cared for her own elderlymother when my grandfatherdied.
She nursedmy father throughseveralheart attacks,back surgeriesand
his final days with congestiveheart failure. She suffered her own
heart attack and angioplasty,and a thyroid surgerythat robbedher of
a beautifulsingingvoice. And she battled - and beat - breast cancer twice.
The pancreaticcancer may have won out in the end, but Mom
staved it off for a good long while. A week after my father died she
learnedof the cancer,and the doctorstold her she probablyhad about
six monthsleft. Thatwas almostthreeyears ago.
She met this latest challengewith the same dignityand optimism
with whichshe has met any other challenge.The diagnosiswas devastating when we heard it, but Mom kept her sense of humor and her
spirit of adventure,and we got on with the business of living in the
10

J

I

i

here and now - not dreadingthe future - and making the most of
whatevertime she had left. Even on the day before she died, though
she was so weak she could hardly speak, she manageda joke and a
smile.
Throughgood times and bad in her life, right up to the end, Mom
always maintainedher sense of wonder and enjoymentof life. And
by her example, she taught me to dream and to learn, to enjoy and
appreciate,and to not be afraid to try new things. I will always be
gratefulto her for that
And I will alwaysbe gratefulthat Mom and I got someextra time
togetherover the past coupleof years, during which time we laughed
a lot and cried a lot and got to know each other even better. My
mother was such an important and integral part of my life, and
throughthis last extendedexperiencewith her - on her own turf, in
her home in Tehachapi, California- I've received the additional
blessing of seeing for myself how she touched the lives of so many
other peopleas well.
My mother was a genuinelygood person, an incrediblyspecial
woman, whethershe ever knew it or not. Right now I am happy for
the long and full life she made for herself,and I am filled with sadness at losing her - I only hope I can honor her life by living up to
her legacy.@

Foret1erything
thereis a season,
and a time fur et1ery
mannerunderheaven:
a time to be born,anda time to die;
a time to plant,and a time to pluckup what is planted;
a time to kill,and a time to heal;
a time to breakdown,anda time to buildup;
a time to weep,and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn,anda time to dance;
a time to castawa, stones,
and a time to gatherstones toget~r;
anda time to refrainfromembracing;
a time to embrace,
a time to seek,and a time to lose;
a time to keep,anda timeto castaway;
a time to rend,anda time to sew;
a time to keepsilence,and a time to speak;
a time to looe,and a time to hate;
a time forwar,and a time fur peace.
&cle.1ia.1te.1
3: 1-9,RevisedStandardVer!ion

11

r!Jn~acred groun
by zind (C:)lov Pzirk:i

ReadingBeaver
Ok, I apologize for the title. But I simply couldn1t resist. The beaver (as in Castorcanadensis)is a national symbol of Canada, right up
there in prominence with the Maple Leaf and the Royal Canadian
Mounted Police (better known as the Mounties). July 1st will mark
my 40th Canada Day (sort of like Independence Day, but much quieter). And as an American who has lived in Canada most of her life,
sometimes I forget that it really is different here. Quieter. Gentler.
More tolerant of diversity. The national health program means we can
afford to get sick. There's real gun control, finnly entrenched government policies that protect gay rights and socially responsible democratic rule thanks to the prevailing Liberal Party, which drew a line in
the sand over the Iraq war and has openly demonstrated disdain for
the current American administration. That certainly makes up for the
cold winters, undervalued dollar and being able to get only a few flavors of Ben & Jerry's. Frankly, Canada isn't such a bad place to be if
you're gay or lesbian and it's home to some wonderfully lesbian writers, like Karen X. Tulchinsky, Ivan Coyote, Helen Humphries and
Jane Rule. Which is a good reason to take a look at some new books
by lesbian writers that are worthy of attention on both sides of the
4 9th parallel.
Nicole Brossard is one of the most influential French-Canadian writers in Canada. And one of the few who is also known to many English-speaking readers. Her writing is highly experimental, linguistically subversive, inherently sexual and openly lesbian - even when
she's not writing about lesbian subjects. She is the author of more
than 20 books of poetry, fiction and essays and is considered a visionary in feminism and post-modernism. The recent publication of The
Blue Books (so named because the books were originally issued in
plain blue covers) is a collection of her three best known works, A
Book, Tum of a Pang and FrenchKiss. And it's a perfect introduction to her writings.
Describing Brossard' s work, at least the meticulous English
translations of her original writings in French, isn't easy. Reminiscent
of the wonderfully chaotic non-linear prose of feminist theorist Mary
12

Daly and the exploratory post-coming out poems of Adrienne Rich,
Brossard writes a great deal about the relationship between women,
sexuality and language, and the need to break open old forms to describe those things which are not permitted description. There's an
eroticism to even her most intellectual pieces, a sexual energy that
permeates every line. Nicole Brossard is not for everyone and her
work isn 1t a particularly easy read. But there is something so powerful
in her creativity with language, her openness and her underlying ideas
on the politics of language that make TheBlue Booksworth the effort.
(The Blue Books, by Nicole Brossard, Coach House Press, $19.95/
$24.95 Canadian)
Ironically, the most visible and revolutionary publisher of lesbian
books in Canada is not a specifically lesbian or gay publishing house.
As part of their extremely varied list of titles, Arsenal Pulp Press in
Vancouver is making great strives in ensuring that the work of Canadian lesbian writers gets to the right readers. Arsenal is probably best
known for its best-selling Hot and Bothered series, edited by Karen
X. Tolchinsky and its Lambda-nominated anthology, Brazen Femme.
The press continues to bravely stake new ground in the genre of lesbian erotica with its recent QuixoticErotic by Tamai Kobayashi.
Again, no standard linear prose here, Kobayashi skillfully writes
in a melodic, poetic style that is extremely powerful and manages to
convey the essences of a variety of sexual encounters, rather than just
describe the act. There's a great deal of emphasis placed on plot and
setting and characterization, which infuses the writing with much intimacy. QuixoticErotic depicts sexuality in a unique voice and is a
valuable
contribution
of lesbian
erotic
writing.
(QuixoticErotic, by Tamai Kobayashi, Arsenal Pulp Press $15.95/
$19.95 Canadian

Sacred Classic:Desert of the Heart by Jane Rule
Jane Rule didn 1t start out as a Canadian, but the New Jersey native
has made her home on Canada's west coast for nearly half a century.
And Desert of the Heart (which Donna Deitch lovingly crafted into
feature film DesertHearts ) is one of the most poignant lesbian love
stories ever written. Set against the arid landscape of the Nevada desert and the garish lights of Reno, Evelyn falls in love with the beautiful, complicated and much younger Ann while waiting out her divorce. Rule knows that the most vividly erotic scenes are the ones in
the reader's mind, and her understated, finely crafted prose and sensitivity to the awakening experiences of a woman coming out in mid
life is impossible to resist. Also fascinating is how Rule bravely raises
the issue of maternal feelings within an intergenerational lesbian reconttnuedpage JS

13

Sal>Pho•s
SolutiotlS
uccessfuILiving

..

-

y and CC>Stacy Chandler

• ••

Dear Savvy ~ppho, I've been single all my life, but now I'm
taking the plunge into coupledom. Any advice? - Soon to be
''Ours"

DearSoon,Developthreedevinequalities:1. Shareeverything;2. Thinkaboutwhatyourotherwoulddofirst;and3.
Loveunconditionally.
- SS
Dear Savvy Sappho, My lover just added a piranha to my Angel fish aquarium. Should I worry? - Jumpy

DearJumpy,Removethe newfish andput it intoa separate
tank. Your lovermay havejust made an uninformed(and
bad)purchase.To be sure,you'd betterask her pointblank
whatherintentionswere.- SS

©©©©©©©©©©©00©00©©©©©©00©©©©©©©©©

~~%i~~~J,~
-¢1.J;L

by and© Stacy Chandler

*BEWARNED- THE VIEWS EXPRESSEDABOVE DO NOT
NECESSARILYREFLECTTHE AURA OF THE COSMOS!

14

-Call/or w

M

111U
001

r
v, ~, .

• Writers, photographers, poets, artists, cartoonists - alf·c~,,z.c.
works are we1come as submissions for the upcoming Lesbir
f'nPrideReaders.The only criteria is that the works be positive,
upbeat, or inspirationaJ,focusing on the brighter side of being a
lesbian.
• •• You must submit original works, but previously published
'works are acceptable. Fiction should be 5,000 words or less;
essays 1000 words or less (shorter is always better!). Poems
should be limited to 40 lines or less. Drawings, photos and cartoons should reproduce well in black and white (color is not in
the plans at this time).
Also welcome are quotes, thoughts, paragraphs - any
form of writing as long as you are the creator and own the
rights to your work.
One-time rights are requested by Makaw Press (the publisher of this newsletter and the upcoming Readers);all rights
revert back to you upon publication. Compensation will be in
the form of complimentary copies of the Readerin which your
work appears.
Don't send originals - send a copy; your work will not be
returned to you unless you have included a self-addressed
stamped envelope. Work may be submitted by mail or email:
Makaw, PO Box 130, Tehachapi, CA 93561 or Momingland@msn.com.

1ionship,a subjectfew writers even now would have the courageto
tackle.Desertof the Heart wasan open declarationof lesbianexperience when it was first publishedin 1964,and is now on the required
reading list of many women's writing coursesat Canadianuniversities. The storyis unforgettableand the writingis breathtakinglybeautiful, makingDesertof the Heart mostcertainlya sacredclassic.

1}

Moody moon child of the night,
Life phases change as well as plights.
Bid Fare-Thee-Well and a firm Good Night
To Imagined fears and unknown blights.*

lll

On Sacred Grow,d- continuedfrom page 1J

..
,

·~~lJ.

CANCER
June 22 - July 22

•.

••

': .............................................
.
~M~
:
.
:

Mel White/MAKAW Press,owner/publisher

•

:
•
:
:

O 2003 All Rights Reserved
For permissionto reprint or use any of the content, contact:
Mel White, PO Box 130, Tehachapi, California 93561
momingland@msn.com
www.morningland.net

:
:
•

~

:•

..............................................
~

15

----------------

______________
....

.._

,

POB~130
T~v,

.
------------------.,
----------------w --------

.:

...-

CA 93561

Address correction requested

r

HERLAND (PE02-12)
HERLAND
2312 NW 39TH
OKLAHOMA CITY OK 73112



..

.,

Property of the Center

LPM
<i0t7t£Ne,ws,
P~1lemtndsrs,

I114P~U~

I

I I

Malca-wPYeff'
J~2003

..

..

VOLUMNVIII, ISSUE7, July 2003

©2003MAKAW

Why are we so afraid of freedom?
by Marilda Mel White
This is the month we celebrate the anniversary of the birth of
our nation, which in turn began a long tradition of freedom for the
people of the United States. Of course, it took awhile before all
her people were free - including the original residents of the land
- but through the years, the Emancipation Act and a few Amendments have tried to make things more equitable.
We still struggle with the idea of freedom today, however,
and there are people who would argue that we're still not free. I
sometimes wonder if people can ever really, truly be absolutely
free; other times I wonder if we've already hit the pinnacle of possible human freedom and we've started back down the slippery
slope toward being a totally restricted society.
I also think sometimes that Americans - all Americans, including my gay and lesbian brothers and sisters - are just plain
scared of being free.
Oh sure, we all talk a good line - we fight wars for freedom,
we love to quote the freedom of speech amendment; we rally and
sing about living in the land of the free. We love to say we want
freedom for all the people in the world.
Which I think is pretty ludicrous since most of us don't even
want our neighbors to be free to paint their house the color they
want, or fix their own car in their own driveway, or park their motor home where it can be seen. We don't want our neighbors to be
able to make their own choices about seatbelts or helmets, or abortion or firearms, or even what to wear to school.
And we certainly don't want our neighbors to feel free to go
to a bar and dance by a pole, or to marrysomeone of the same sex,
2

or to take a little marijuana to ease their suffering. We don't want
our neighbors to be free to say a prayer in school or pledge allegiance to "one nation under God."
Closer to home, in a lifestyle sort of way, there are some of us
lesbians who don't want our sisters to be free to eat meat, or to
identify as butch or fem...or to be too androgynous. Some of us
sing songs about freedom and then turn right around and abuse our
sisters who think differently than we do.
We as a people, no matter on which side of the sexual orientation fence we stand, we seem to love the idea of being a freedomloving nation, as long as our friends and neighbors freely and lovingly conform to what we think is right. If, by chance, someone
might try to exercise his or her right to free expression, and it differs from what we think they should do or think, you can be sure
that any number of freedom-loving Americans will jump on the
bandwagon to create - or at least attempt to create - a law to
restrict those other people from being free.
Laws (and rules) are meant to restrict, and restriction is the
antithesis of freedom. How can we spout off about freedom and
then want to restrict not only our neighbors but ourselves as well
with more laws and rules? Why, I wonder, are we so afraid of
freedom?
It could be as simple as the fact that we don't want to think
our neighbors are freer thanwe are and are therefore having more
fun, or it could be as complex as the idea that we think we're
smarter than God (or any higher power, for that matter) and we
alone know what's best for the other gal and how to rein her in.
The trouble is, no matter who is in charge, or who gets to hold
the reins, the more restrictions there are, the less freedom there is
for everyone. You may be happy about a new law or covenant that
means your neighbor can't always do what she wants, especially
when it means your straight neighbor has been put in her place,
but every time you limit someone else's thoughts or actions, that
slope gets slipperier and you can bet your bottom dollar those restrictions will ultimately be used to curb your own freedoms as
well.
There is an old saying that goes "none of us is free until all of
us are free." I don't know who said it, but it was surly someone
ff)'
wise, and it surly applies to all of us. As we
celebrate the founding of our nation this
, .
month, we'd do well to remember that and
.\
not be so afraid of letting our friends and
~\
\
~
,
neighbors enjoy their freedoms as we like to
enjoy our own.
3

@»

®

9~2929?99W~i~W929W~??i

I celebrate the rainbow in myself
and the world

c;o1..m:.."I.:
l'HRF.Ans
i.i,,a 'lrorkho"itk-rl

and ll<!Wi'la

m»OOl{

d~t

Iii

.,.~

~i(.

.,,,:1li.J™'~fl,,_

DJ.i,!l_jij,;
.. ,.i diltt

-~...

l..dbml.

GOU) ~;N I1iJlFAIEi
(m j3t111.t

OJ.tdoom

pi,lolio:aou11

·Jnavcr~O.IUl!llllbr-n-

forl~1!.1Jn)•
f".1•1n~

m,nd.1.

broiuw Ill Ji,,r .,

•

. . .,.., □1..;, i. ~ m,:lm_
Sm,:111SASf io:

GOLDEN _ _ ___. S, P. O. Bol[ 1181
~lt
G.l ,~!!'ii-l US
for infonmti<m nnd ~pplic.ltion.

'Rea.a.e.,-

...~'l!'l~l!!ffl!

$3i.'lflll="1f'l' tl!.liinl ~ ~ l 'ii IIEld~"'"'1>
""110llhi=r~.SIO

J,fo~

l'S Mldiil>l·

Orn~ fat 1uaili~'1

ouo,:,~OOOQOOQO

I~

011tv<1~

livingand dying all at once.
My recognitionof the range within myself
helps me also to see others as parts of the
rontin:uum I don t neErl others to be at the
same pl.aceI am - my awn position shi.fts,as
everyone's does. In this fluid di.uersityis the
beauty of the rainbow. It colors the world and
challenges my efforts to harmonize.
Respecti.ngwho I am, I lookforward today
to where I will be tomorrow and 'honorwhere I
have been in the past. In my same-sexorientatkm, I expand the possi,biliti.esfor love. My being weaves
sparkling threads into the UJOndermentof the universe.

l"'M,LU;tle,
L~,,-tde.,

c-t.rull.l - ...,ldi~"i!-..mmra,nr.l

hu•~-~.-..-

The full spectrum of life calls to me. No longer do I see
myself in "either-or"terms. I love and hate; I teach and learn;
I am a healer and one who is being healed; I am parl. of huma:ni,tyyet ever alone;I dwnge while stayu,g the same; I am

U~

QQQQOQQOO

@

@

HAPPILYEVERAFTER
a book by Stacy Chandler
FREE to good l•sblan b.onN•I
$2 for po11tageto Spec:alaton, Inc.
PO Box 99038 1 Troy, Ml 48099

A 60-pagebooklet
chockfull of good
thoughts,positiveremindersand
inspirational
Messages;
only $5 postpaid,
such, deal!
MelWhite,
PO Box 130,
Tehachapi,CA 93561

- Eleanor Ruth Wagner
in Lavender Reflections

............................................f

~-------------------------------~

:: GAYELLOW PAGES informing the lesbian, gay, bisexual & trans-::
11gender community since 1973, Includes Women's Section and Eth- 11
11nle/Multlcultural section "You won't find a more complete guide cov- 11
11erlng flterally all aspects of Gay and Lesbian life" Our World
11
11
http://gayellowpages.com
11
11
RenaissanceHouse, PO Box 533 Village Station, New York, NY
11
11
10014 (or ask at your local feminist bookstore)
11
1
'. iii iii iii iii ii iii iii iii iii iii iii iii iii iii iii iii iii iii iii iii iii iii iii iii iii iii ii iii iii iii -.•

LAVENDER REFLECTIONS
by Eleanor Ruth Wagner,

Retnemberi11gs
ilnd CelebrJtlol1s,

A book of affirmations for
lesbians and gay men;
Meditations & quotations;
photos & holiday entries
$10,95 (post paid)
from author.
5529 Vernon Ave S,
Minneapolis, MN 55436

Lovi11g
kmtndet5 of the
G~Jt Mother's Voice
availablcthtough
RobynPosln,
Box725, Ojai, CA 93024

I

Reminder:

Giving that depletes you

can never truly be
nourishing to another ...
when you give more than you can,
you come to need more than you can find
anywhere outside of your now depleted self ...

l

practice ta.king better ca.re of you/

a 64-Q t4 4cckof

-Robyn Posin
Remembering• and Celebrations
•

www.forthelitUeon.sinside.com

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

•

805-646-4518

www.futthclittlconeslnsl4e.com
A1kfut A Cmlog of r1e1sures

Love, wthe,~

refr~

U\I Ufe,.

-Pablc-P~
4

5

GOODNEWS FOR SOME JS GOODNEWS

------------------~~----------------Family Pride Coal.itionCommends
Supreme CourtDecision

The Family Pride Coalition commends the United State's Supreme Court ruling which struck down the Texas sodomy law by a
vote of 6-3, saying the law was an unconstitutional violation of privacy and also violated due process guarantees.
The U.S. Supreme Court considered the constitutionality of the
Texas "Homosexual Conduct'' law, which criminalized oral and anal
sex between consenting gay couples. The June 26th ruling also overthrows sodomy laws in all 13 states where they had existed, and not
just the four states - Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri - that
had discriminatory sodomy laws that only outlawed same-sex
"sodomy."
Lambda Legal argued the case - Lawrenceand Gamer v. Texas
- before the United States Supreme Court. Justices Anthony Kennedy, John Paul Stevens, David Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and
Stephen Breyer and Sandra Day O'Connor voted in the majority.
Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist and Justices Antonin Scalia and
Clarence Thomas dissented.
"Today, the Supreme Court ruled for fairness for all Americans,"
said Aimee Gelnaw, executive director of the Family Pride Coalition.
"After years of this antiquated law being applied with prejudice to gay
and lesbian Americans, it can no longer serve as an unjust barrier to
lesbians and gay men maintaining custody of their own children or
becoming foster or adoptive parents."
This year, the Family Pride Coalition was deeply involved in efforts to
defeat three anti-gayfoster care and adoption bills in Texas. The sodomy law
was uae,das a reference point in arguments against allowing lesbian and gay
Texans the opportunity to serve as foster and adoptive parents. Despite this
opposition, all three measures were defeated. The Family Pride Coalition is
the only national non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the well
being of lesbian, gay, bisexual and tronagender parents and their families
through mutual support, community collaboration and public understanding.

Cathedralof Hope CommendsSupreme Court
The Cathedral of Hope, the world's largest liberal Christian
church with a primary outreach to lesbians, gays and transgender people, applauds the U.S. Supreme Court for its courageous ruling today
in the Lawrence and Garner v. Texas case that strikes down the Texas
sodomy law.
"Today the Supreme Court made it clear that state governments
have no right to enshrine their prejudices in law," said Rev. Michael
6

FOR ALL (whether they know it yet or not)
S. Piazza,Dean of the Cathedral of Hope. "It is difficult to see how
any rational person can justify the government regulating private behavior between consenting adults. How could that behavior be legal
for some consenting adults (heterosexuals) and illegal for others
(homosexuals)? Obviously the majority of the Supreme Court recognized that all taxpayers deserve equal protection. We are grateful that
the law is at last catching up with the common sense of the American
people."

Soulforce ExpressesJubilationand Hopefor the Future
Leaders of Soulforce today express jubilation at the decision by
the United States Supreme Court in Lawrence v Texas overturning
Texas's sodomy law. Until the decision, it had been illegal in 13 states
for same-sex couples to engage in certain types of sexual behavior in
their own homes.
The Texas case began when police responded to a false report of
a weapons disturbance and busted into John Lawrence's home. Although the police found no weapons, they did find Mr. Lawrence with
Tyrone Garner engaged in sex and arrested them both. Texas courts
found both men guilty and the June 26th decision overturns those convictions.
"[It is] fantastic for all people because the Supreme Court has
recognized that our government has no place in our bedrooms, nor a
right to selectively single out people of minority sexual orientation for
criminal punishment," said Rev. Mel White, founder and director of
Soulforce, Inc (and no relation to this newsletter's editor). "Maybe
some churches that alienate and degrade us will see the light after
today as well."
The decision overturned both the Texas court decision in Lawrence v. Texas and thel986 Supreme Court decision in the Bowers v
Hardwick case that upheld Georgia sodomy laws. According to CNN,
the late Justice Lewis Powell, the deciding vote in the Bowers decision, later said he probably made a mistake with his decision on that
case. This decision corrected that mistake.
"I'm free, I'm free, I am no longer a criminal for who I love, I am
free to be who God created me to be," said Karen Weldin, Soulforce
Director of Operations. "I hope this gives people hiding in the closet
the sense of freedom and courage to come out and be proud of who
they are and who they love."
Sou/force, a national interfaith movement committed to endingspiritual violence
perpetuated by religious policies and teachings against gay, lesbian, bisexua~ and
transgender (GLBT). We teach and employ the principles of nonviolence as taught by
Gandhi and King to the liberation of sexual minorities. www.smllforce.org

7

by and © Lee Lynch

An Epidemic of Love
I just received an e-mail telling me that yet another woman I
know has cancer. In the past several months the toll from cancer in
my social circle has risen beyond already unacceptable levels breast, colon, uterine, lung, cervical. I suspect this is not a phenomenon I am experiencing alone. Surely it is an epidemic that
deserves as much attention as any ten hot warring countries.
Helpless is a weak description for what I feel, yet I have
learned that I can do something, I can be a friend We're all so
essentially alone when dealing with diseases of body and mind,
but I see this scourge uniting us in ways little else could. When I
heard that my ex's partner was ill, I spontaneously ended a year'slong silence with a note of support. Cancer is the great equalizer.
Differences and past angers pale next to the instinct for clan-wide
survival.
So we send energy and green healing light, visualize a
healthy, thriving friend, embark on a course of meditations or
prayer and donate whatever we can in the way of money or time
- weaving all of this into a fabric we use to wrap our friends in
love. Around here, we're getting good at this.
Over time a sort of crone's resource kit with healing rituals
for radiation and chemotherapy and special diets rich with
strengthening nutrients will evolve. Even now organimtions are
coordinating services like hospital visits, rides to appointments,
home visits, housekeeping, gardening, pet care, laundry, meal
preparation and help with confusing medical bills or insurance
problems.•
Is the raging current of cancer a product of aging? All of the
diagnoses I'm hearing about have come to women in their 50s and
older. Maybe this is normal and only new to me because these are
my contemporaries. Is it a sign that we are taking better care of
ourselves and going to the doctor so the cancers are being caught
earlier? This would be good news in terms of survival. Is it a sign
that the medical establishment has responded to feminist pressure
and is paying attention to something besides prostrates and male
hearts? Have the medical schools accepted and trained more
women physicians than they used to and are these women now
listening to women patients as we have never been listened to before?
8

Probably these are all factors in what feels like an awfully
high incidence of cancer around me. But what I fear is that this is
no statistical fluke reflecting better, earlier reporting. I fear that as
our planet gets more polluted, as our foods become more processed, as corporations change the very chemistry of what we ingest and breathe, that we are the guinea pigs of a radical future
designed for profit, not people. I fear our bodies are failing to
adapt to an atmosphere in which space explorers would refuse to
land without heavy-duty protective gear. I hope I'm wrong.
Whether there is an increase in cancer (and I no longer trust
our government to report this) or I have simply reached an age
when illness becomes more common, I have a challenge before
me. The lives of my friends are seriously disrupted and they need
help. What I see evolving is lesbian family like I have never seen
before. And not just lesbian - neighbors, people at work, estranged in-laws, childhood buddies from across the country everyone wants to help. It's like a blizz.ard,when the whole block
comes out with shovels and hot chocolate and good cheer. I hear a
collective belief that positive thought and huge amounts of love
can heal, or at least prolong life. Even when it's time for someone
to go, the caring remains to carry the survivors through grief.
More than one friend has told me that although it's no fun,
having cancer taught her a lot. It's teaching me too. Of course its
prevalence in my life leads me to worry Whatwill I do if ... ?
I start thinking about how home is where, if you have to go
there, they have to take you in, and get depressed about going
backwards toward my relatives who have enough on their hands
without the return of the never popular family queer. But I don't
see that happening. I see families I never knew were there being
created and expanded. I see all kinds of help, from the national
Mautner Project for lesbians to local groups to pharmaceutical
giants that make drugs available at little or no cost..
I sure hope no one else in my life ever gets cancer, but now I
know that when the cure is found, it won't be the only miracle
inspired by this disease.
© Lee Lynch 2003

*Foundedin 1990, the Mautner Project is the only national organizationdedicatedto lesbianswith cancer, their partners and
caregivers.
TheMautnerProject
1707L StreetNW, Suite 230 Washington,DC 20036
Voiceffl'Y 202-332-5536 Fax 202-332-0662
E-Mailmautner@mautnerproject.org
9

In memoryof a veryspecialwoman:my mother
by Marilda K. (Mel) White
It was Swidaymorning,early. 6:00. I woke up and checked on
Mom. She was sleeping,but she did not respondto me.
I sat with her awhile,and I told her it was all right for her to go.
She left this world almostimmediately.It was somethingwe had discussed before, but saying it out loud at that momentwas one of the
hardestthings I've ever had to do.
Her passing was the inevitableend to her battle with pancreatic
cancer,but knowingit was comingdid not make it any easier. I have
lost my mother and my best friend, and this world has lost one of its
brightestlights.
I don't know that my mother ever really knew how incredibly
specialshe was, but maybethat was to be expected- she was always
the type of woman who steeredattentionaway from herself and onto
others. Perhaps that was what endearedher to so many people... or
maybethey werejust drawnto her sunnysmile,or her optimisticattitude, or her cheerful spirit. At any rate, my mother has always been
the kind of personotherpeoplelike to be around.
She did not necessarilyhave an easy life, but she made it a good
one. She knew her share of heartacheand pain, and yet she was the
one who first and always taught me to look on the bright side. I'm
told that times were lean when I was small,but I neverknew it at the
time. I just rememberthe good times we had - all of my fondest
childhoodmemoriesare centeredarowidmy mother.
Life got harder for Mom as we all grew older. She acceptedme
and my lesbianism,even though she never really widerstoodit and
even though it ultimatelymeant no grandchildrenfor her. She dealt
with the illness and eventualtotal disabilityof her yowigerdaughter,
and she cared for her own elderlymother when my grandfatherdied.
She nursedmy father throughseveralheart attacks,back surgeriesand
his final days with congestiveheart failure. She suffered her own
heart attack and angioplasty,and a thyroid surgerythat robbedher of
a beautifulsingingvoice. And she battled - and beat - breast cancer twice.
The pancreaticcancer may have won out in the end, but Mom
staved it off for a good long while. A week after my father died she
learnedof the cancer,and the doctorstold her she probablyhad about
six monthsleft. Thatwas almostthreeyears ago.
She met this latest challengewith the same dignityand optimism
with whichshe has met any other challenge.The diagnosiswas devastating when we heard it, but Mom kept her sense of humor and her
spirit of adventure,and we got on with the business of living in the
10

J

I

i

here and now - not dreadingthe future - and making the most of
whatevertime she had left. Even on the day before she died, though
she was so weak she could hardly speak, she manageda joke and a
smile.
Throughgood times and bad in her life, right up to the end, Mom
always maintainedher sense of wonder and enjoymentof life. And
by her example, she taught me to dream and to learn, to enjoy and
appreciate,and to not be afraid to try new things. I will always be
gratefulto her for that
And I will alwaysbe gratefulthat Mom and I got someextra time
togetherover the past coupleof years, during which time we laughed
a lot and cried a lot and got to know each other even better. My
mother was such an important and integral part of my life, and
throughthis last extendedexperiencewith her - on her own turf, in
her home in Tehachapi, California- I've received the additional
blessing of seeing for myself how she touched the lives of so many
other peopleas well.
My mother was a genuinelygood person, an incrediblyspecial
woman, whethershe ever knew it or not. Right now I am happy for
the long and full life she made for herself,and I am filled with sadness at losing her - I only hope I can honor her life by living up to
her legacy.@

Foret1erything
thereis a season,
and a time fur et1ery
mannerunderheaven:
a time to be born,anda time to die;
a time to plant,and a time to pluckup what is planted;
a time to kill,and a time to heal;
a time to breakdown,anda time to buildup;
a time to weep,and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn,anda time to dance;
a time to castawa, stones,
and a time to gatherstones toget~r;
anda time to refrainfromembracing;
a time to embrace,
a time to seek,and a time to lose;
a time to keep,anda timeto castaway;
a time to rend,anda time to sew;
a time to keepsilence,and a time to speak;
a time to looe,and a time to hate;
a time forwar,and a time fur peace.
&cle.1ia.1te.1
3: 1-9,RevisedStandardVer!ion

11

r!Jn~acred groun
by zind (C:)lov Pzirk:i

ReadingBeaver
Ok, I apologize for the title. But I simply couldn1t resist. The beaver (as in Castorcanadensis)is a national symbol of Canada, right up
there in prominence with the Maple Leaf and the Royal Canadian
Mounted Police (better known as the Mounties). July 1st will mark
my 40th Canada Day (sort of like Independence Day, but much quieter). And as an American who has lived in Canada most of her life,
sometimes I forget that it really is different here. Quieter. Gentler.
More tolerant of diversity. The national health program means we can
afford to get sick. There's real gun control, finnly entrenched government policies that protect gay rights and socially responsible democratic rule thanks to the prevailing Liberal Party, which drew a line in
the sand over the Iraq war and has openly demonstrated disdain for
the current American administration. That certainly makes up for the
cold winters, undervalued dollar and being able to get only a few flavors of Ben & Jerry's. Frankly, Canada isn't such a bad place to be if
you're gay or lesbian and it's home to some wonderfully lesbian writers, like Karen X. Tulchinsky, Ivan Coyote, Helen Humphries and
Jane Rule. Which is a good reason to take a look at some new books
by lesbian writers that are worthy of attention on both sides of the
4 9th parallel.
Nicole Brossard is one of the most influential French-Canadian writers in Canada. And one of the few who is also known to many English-speaking readers. Her writing is highly experimental, linguistically subversive, inherently sexual and openly lesbian - even when
she's not writing about lesbian subjects. She is the author of more
than 20 books of poetry, fiction and essays and is considered a visionary in feminism and post-modernism. The recent publication of The
Blue Books (so named because the books were originally issued in
plain blue covers) is a collection of her three best known works, A
Book, Tum of a Pang and FrenchKiss. And it's a perfect introduction to her writings.
Describing Brossard' s work, at least the meticulous English
translations of her original writings in French, isn't easy. Reminiscent
of the wonderfully chaotic non-linear prose of feminist theorist Mary
12

Daly and the exploratory post-coming out poems of Adrienne Rich,
Brossard writes a great deal about the relationship between women,
sexuality and language, and the need to break open old forms to describe those things which are not permitted description. There's an
eroticism to even her most intellectual pieces, a sexual energy that
permeates every line. Nicole Brossard is not for everyone and her
work isn 1t a particularly easy read. But there is something so powerful
in her creativity with language, her openness and her underlying ideas
on the politics of language that make TheBlue Booksworth the effort.
(The Blue Books, by Nicole Brossard, Coach House Press, $19.95/
$24.95 Canadian)
Ironically, the most visible and revolutionary publisher of lesbian
books in Canada is not a specifically lesbian or gay publishing house.
As part of their extremely varied list of titles, Arsenal Pulp Press in
Vancouver is making great strives in ensuring that the work of Canadian lesbian writers gets to the right readers. Arsenal is probably best
known for its best-selling Hot and Bothered series, edited by Karen
X. Tolchinsky and its Lambda-nominated anthology, Brazen Femme.
The press continues to bravely stake new ground in the genre of lesbian erotica with its recent QuixoticErotic by Tamai Kobayashi.
Again, no standard linear prose here, Kobayashi skillfully writes
in a melodic, poetic style that is extremely powerful and manages to
convey the essences of a variety of sexual encounters, rather than just
describe the act. There's a great deal of emphasis placed on plot and
setting and characterization, which infuses the writing with much intimacy. QuixoticErotic depicts sexuality in a unique voice and is a
valuable
contribution
of lesbian
erotic
writing.
(QuixoticErotic, by Tamai Kobayashi, Arsenal Pulp Press $15.95/
$19.95 Canadian

Sacred Classic:Desert of the Heart by Jane Rule
Jane Rule didn 1t start out as a Canadian, but the New Jersey native
has made her home on Canada's west coast for nearly half a century.
And Desert of the Heart (which Donna Deitch lovingly crafted into
feature film DesertHearts ) is one of the most poignant lesbian love
stories ever written. Set against the arid landscape of the Nevada desert and the garish lights of Reno, Evelyn falls in love with the beautiful, complicated and much younger Ann while waiting out her divorce. Rule knows that the most vividly erotic scenes are the ones in
the reader's mind, and her understated, finely crafted prose and sensitivity to the awakening experiences of a woman coming out in mid
life is impossible to resist. Also fascinating is how Rule bravely raises
the issue of maternal feelings within an intergenerational lesbian reconttnuedpage JS

13

Sal>Pho•s
SolutiotlS
uccessfuILiving

..

-

y and CC>Stacy Chandler

• ••

Dear Savvy ~ppho, I've been single all my life, but now I'm
taking the plunge into coupledom. Any advice? - Soon to be
''Ours"

DearSoon,Developthreedevinequalities:1. Shareeverything;2. Thinkaboutwhatyourotherwoulddofirst;and3.
Loveunconditionally.
- SS
Dear Savvy Sappho, My lover just added a piranha to my Angel fish aquarium. Should I worry? - Jumpy

DearJumpy,Removethe newfish andput it intoa separate
tank. Your lovermay havejust made an uninformed(and
bad)purchase.To be sure,you'd betterask her pointblank
whatherintentionswere.- SS

©©©©©©©©©©©00©00©©©©©©00©©©©©©©©©

~~%i~~~J,~
-¢1.J;L

by and© Stacy Chandler

*BEWARNED- THE VIEWS EXPRESSEDABOVE DO NOT
NECESSARILYREFLECTTHE AURA OF THE COSMOS!

14

-Call/or w

M

111U
001

r
v, ~, .

• Writers, photographers, poets, artists, cartoonists - alf·c~,,z.c.
works are we1come as submissions for the upcoming Lesbir
f'nPrideReaders.The only criteria is that the works be positive,
upbeat, or inspirationaJ,focusing on the brighter side of being a
lesbian.
• •• You must submit original works, but previously published
'works are acceptable. Fiction should be 5,000 words or less;
essays 1000 words or less (shorter is always better!). Poems
should be limited to 40 lines or less. Drawings, photos and cartoons should reproduce well in black and white (color is not in
the plans at this time).
Also welcome are quotes, thoughts, paragraphs - any
form of writing as long as you are the creator and own the
rights to your work.
One-time rights are requested by Makaw Press (the publisher of this newsletter and the upcoming Readers);all rights
revert back to you upon publication. Compensation will be in
the form of complimentary copies of the Readerin which your
work appears.
Don't send originals - send a copy; your work will not be
returned to you unless you have included a self-addressed
stamped envelope. Work may be submitted by mail or email:
Makaw, PO Box 130, Tehachapi, CA 93561 or Momingland@msn.com.

1ionship,a subjectfew writers even now would have the courageto
tackle.Desertof the Heart wasan open declarationof lesbianexperience when it was first publishedin 1964,and is now on the required
reading list of many women's writing coursesat Canadianuniversities. The storyis unforgettableand the writingis breathtakinglybeautiful, makingDesertof the Heart mostcertainlya sacredclassic.

1}

Moody moon child of the night,
Life phases change as well as plights.
Bid Fare-Thee-Well and a firm Good Night
To Imagined fears and unknown blights.*

lll

On Sacred Grow,d- continuedfrom page 1J

..
,

·~~lJ.

CANCER
June 22 - July 22

•.

••

': .............................................
.
~M~
:
.
:

Mel White/MAKAW Press,owner/publisher

•

:
•
:
:

O 2003 All Rights Reserved
For permissionto reprint or use any of the content, contact:
Mel White, PO Box 130, Tehachapi, California 93561
momingland@msn.com
www.morningland.net

:
:
•

~

:•

..............................................
~

15

----------------

______________
....

.._

,

POB~130
T~v,

.
------------------.,
----------------w --------

.:

...-

CA 93561

Address correction requested

r

HERLAND (PE02-12)
HERLAND
2312 NW 39TH
OKLAHOMA CITY OK 73112