Works by
Pat Parker
(Poet, Writer)
[1944 - 1989]

• Child of Myself (1974)

• Pit Stop (1975)

• Woman Slaughter (1978) with Karen Sjoholm and Wendy Cadden Irmagean, Illustrators
  A '70's book of Black Lesbian poetry with many unique b&w graphic illustrations.

• Jonestown and Other Madness (1985)

• Movement in Black (1978, Revised 1990, Revised 1999)
  "This is the new, expanded edition of a groundbreaking volume of poetry first published in 1978, 11 years before Parker's early death of breast cancer. Based in the Bay Area and steeped in the radical politics of the late 1960s, Parker was the contemporary of Audre Lorde, Adrienne Rich, and LeRoi Jones/Amiri Baraka. In her introduction, Cheryl Clarke identifies Parker as a "lead voice and caller" in the lesbian-feminist cultural scene, but chides her for careless editing, as if Parker feared that her vernacular poems would lose their power if she subjected them to cold critique. Her most potent works do rely on an inspired punch line rather than carefully plumed images or language, as in "For Willyce," when she describes making love to a woman:

  and your sounds drift down
  oh god!
  oh jesus!
  and i think
  here it is, some dude's
  getting credit for what
  a woman
  has done
  again.

  A distinguished collection, including previously unpublished work and tributes from many of Parker's friends and allies." --Regina Marler, Amazon.com

See also:

• This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color (1981),  Cherrie Moraga and Gloria Anzaldua, eds.
  Classic collection of feminist writings

• I Never Told Anyone: Writings by Women Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse (1983), Ellen Bass and Louise Thornton

• Politics of the Heart: A Lesbian Parenting Anthology (1987), Jeanne Vaughn and Sandra Pollack, eds.

• Contemporary Lesbian Writers of the United States: A Bio-Bibliographical Critical Sourcebook  (1993), Denise D. Knight and Sandra Pollack, eds.
  The first comprehensive biographical, critical, and bibliographical source on lesbian writers, this reference book features essays on 100 contemporary writers of poetry, fiction, and drama in the United States. Many had written as self-identified lesbians at some point during the 1970-1992 period of coverage. Each essay comprises a biography, with personal history often derived from interviews, an analysis of major works and themes, an overview of the critical reception, and bibliographies of primary works and of critical studies and reviews.

• Unleashing Feminism: Critiquing Lesbian Sadomasochism in the Gay Nineties/a Collection of Radical Feminist Writings (1993) by Anna Livia, Jamie Lee Evans, Kathy Miriam,  and Pat Parker

• Gay and Lesbian Poetry in Our Time: An Anthology (1988), Carl Morse, Joan Larkin, ed.

• Identity Poetics: Race, Class, and the Lesbian-Feminist Roots of Queer Theory (2001) by Linda Garber
  "Queer theory," asserts Linda Garber, "alternately buries and vilifies lesbian feminism, missing its valuable insights and ignoring its rich contributions." Rejecting the either/or choice between lesbianism and queer theory, she favors an inclusive approach that defies current factionalism. In an eloquent challenge to the privileging of queer theory in the academy, Garber calls for recognition of the historical -- and intellectually significant -- role of lesbian poets as theorists of lesbian identity and activism.
  
  The connections, Garber shows, are most clearly seen when looking at the pivotal work of working-class lesbians/lesbians of color whose articulations of multiple, simultaneous identity positions and activist politics both belong to lesbian feminism and presage queer theory. Identity Poetics includes a critical overview of recent historical writing about the women's and lesbian-feminist movements of the 1970s; discussions of the works of Judy Grahn, Pat Parker, Audre Lorde, Adrienne Rich, and Gloria Anzaldúa; and, finally, a chapter on the rise and hegemony of queer theory within lesbigay studies.