Barbara Grier
Encyclopedia
Barbara Grier was an American writer and publisher most widely known for co-founding Naiad Press
and writing and editing The Ladder
under the pseudonym Gene Damon.
at 12 years old and spent her life finding as much information about female homosexuality
as she could. Her parents divorced when she was 13 years old. Grier went to the library to discover more about lesbians after noticing her own behavior patterns were different from her friends. She told her mother that she was homosexual, and her mother replied, "No, because you're a woman, you're a lesbian. And since 12 years old is too young to make such a decision, let's wait six months before we tell the newspapers." She began collecting books when her mother gave her a copy of The Well of Loneliness
by Radclyffe Hall
when she was 16 years old. She describes her collection of lesbian-themed books as Lesbiana, a collection that was fueled by a "love affair with lesbian publishing."
Shortly after Grier graduated high school in 1951, she met Helen Bennett in a public library. They spent 20 years together living in Denver, Colorado
while Bennett went to library school, then moving to Kansas City
where both worked in public libraries.
, soon after subscribing to it in 1957. She used multiple pen names in her writings including Gene Damon, Lennox Strong, Vern Niven, most often writing to review literature in which lesbians were characters or a plot device.
Grier took over editing The Ladder in 1968 with the goal of expanding the magazine to include more feminist ideals. The magazine gained a more professional and sleeker layout and increased to more than 40 pages from the 25 average under previous editors and tripled in subscriptions. She described her roles in editing the magazine, ""In 1968, I became editor of The Ladder, and I had to write three hundred letters a week, edit the magazine, run a staff of fifteen people spread all over the world, work a part-time job, keep house, read the books, and write my 'Lesbiana' column." Grier also removed the word "lesbian" from the front cover, after being placed there in 1963, in an attempt to reach more women. Grier's tenure took place at a time when the Daughters of Bilitis were in conflict about the direction of the organization. DOB founders tended to encourage a more assimilation
ist stance for the organization and came in direct conflict from more radical separatist lesbians, including Grier. When the DOB folded in 1970, Grier, who was editing the magazine from Kansas City, planned with DOB president Rita LaPorte to take the only two copies of the subscription list from the printer and the DOB headquarters in order to keep The Ladder alive. LaPorte took both copies to the ignorance of DOB founders Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin, and relocated the magazine to Reno, causing an uproar. The Ladder ran for two more years before it outgrew its finances and folded in September 1972. Said Grier about her role in the controversy, "You have to understand that none of these things were done with malice aforethought or with intention to damage. I mean I was just as much a light-eyed maniac then as I am now in terms of the mission. The mission is that the lesbians shall inherit the earth, you see."
Grier and partner Donna McBride began running Naiad Press at the support and urging of two editors of The Ladder, Anyda Marchant and Muriel Crawford in 1973. Their first published work was The Latecomer written by Marchant under the pen name Sarah Aldridge
. Naiad was run from Kansas City until 1980 when it relocated to Tallahassee, Florida
. Both women continued to work full time until 1982 when they dedicated all their time to the publishing company.
Authors represented by Naiad include Valerie Taylor, Katherine V. Forrest
, Jane Rule
, Ann Bannon
's reprinted Beebo Brinker Chronicles, and Gale Wilhelm
, whom Grier spent several years attempting to locate to bring out of obscurity. One of the most controversial of these was Lesbian Nuns: Breaking Silence, a work of non-fiction that was banned in Boston
and criticized by the Catholic Church. Penthouse Forum ran a series from the book and it made Naiad an internationally-known publishing name.
Grier used her extensive lesbian literature collection, what she termed "Lesbiana" at Naiad. By 1994, the company had a staff of 8 and projected sales of $1.8 million US. In 1992, Grier and McBride donated Naiad's entire collection to the San Francisco Public Library
, which consisted of a tractor trailer full of 14,000 books estimated at $400,000 US. What began as a search became a self-described obsession for Grier. She worked with Jeannette Howard Foster
and Marion Zimmer Bradley
to compile the largest collection of books with lesbian themes in the English language, they called The Lesbian in Literature. Books were rated from A to D referencing how important lesbian characters were to the plot, or T, indicating the book was "trash".
In 1985 Grier earned the President's Award for Lifetime Service from the Gay Academic Union
. In 1991, Grier and McBride, representing Naiad Press, was given the Lambda Literary Award for Publisher's Service. Grier and McBride were given the Lambda Literary Pioneer Award in 2002. Grier and McBride sold the Naiad backlist to Bella Books
in 2003.
Naiad press
Naiad Press was one of the first publishing companies dedicated to lesbian literature. At its closing it was the oldest and largest lesbian/feminist publisher in the world.-History:...
and writing and editing The Ladder
The Ladder (magazine)
The Ladder was the first nationally distributed lesbian publication in the United States. It was published monthly from 1956 to 1970, and once every other month in 1971 and 1972. It was the primary publication and method of communication for the Daughters of Bilitis, the first lesbian organization...
under the pseudonym Gene Damon.
Early life
Born in Cincinnati to Dorothy Vernon Black, a secretary, and Philip Strang Grier, a doctor, Grier grew up in several midwestern US cities. She claims she came out as a lesbianLesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
at 12 years old and spent her life finding as much information about female homosexuality
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
as she could. Her parents divorced when she was 13 years old. Grier went to the library to discover more about lesbians after noticing her own behavior patterns were different from her friends. She told her mother that she was homosexual, and her mother replied, "No, because you're a woman, you're a lesbian. And since 12 years old is too young to make such a decision, let's wait six months before we tell the newspapers." She began collecting books when her mother gave her a copy of The Well of Loneliness
The Well of Loneliness
The Well of Loneliness is a 1928 lesbian novel by the British author Radclyffe Hall. It follows the life of Stephen Gordon, an Englishwoman from an upper-class family whose "sexual inversion" is apparent from an early age...
by Radclyffe Hall
Radclyffe Hall
Radclyffe Hall was an English poet and author, best known for the lesbian classic The Well of Loneliness.- Life :...
when she was 16 years old. She describes her collection of lesbian-themed books as Lesbiana, a collection that was fueled by a "love affair with lesbian publishing."
Shortly after Grier graduated high school in 1951, she met Helen Bennett in a public library. They spent 20 years together living in Denver, Colorado
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
while Bennett went to library school, then moving to Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
where both worked in public libraries.
The Ladder
Grier began writing book reviews in The Ladder, a magazine edited by members of the Daughters of BilitisDaughters of Bilitis
The Daughters of Bilitis , was the first lesbian rights organization in the United States. It was formed in San Francisco in 1955, conceived as a social alternative to lesbian bars, which were considered illegal and thus subject to raids and police harassment...
, soon after subscribing to it in 1957. She used multiple pen names in her writings including Gene Damon, Lennox Strong, Vern Niven, most often writing to review literature in which lesbians were characters or a plot device.
Grier took over editing The Ladder in 1968 with the goal of expanding the magazine to include more feminist ideals. The magazine gained a more professional and sleeker layout and increased to more than 40 pages from the 25 average under previous editors and tripled in subscriptions. She described her roles in editing the magazine, ""In 1968, I became editor of The Ladder, and I had to write three hundred letters a week, edit the magazine, run a staff of fifteen people spread all over the world, work a part-time job, keep house, read the books, and write my 'Lesbiana' column." Grier also removed the word "lesbian" from the front cover, after being placed there in 1963, in an attempt to reach more women. Grier's tenure took place at a time when the Daughters of Bilitis were in conflict about the direction of the organization. DOB founders tended to encourage a more assimilation
Cultural assimilation
Cultural assimilation is a socio-political response to demographic multi-ethnicity that supports or promotes the assimilation of ethnic minorities into the dominant culture. The term assimilation is often used with regard to immigrants and various ethnic groups who have settled in a new land. New...
ist stance for the organization and came in direct conflict from more radical separatist lesbians, including Grier. When the DOB folded in 1970, Grier, who was editing the magazine from Kansas City, planned with DOB president Rita LaPorte to take the only two copies of the subscription list from the printer and the DOB headquarters in order to keep The Ladder alive. LaPorte took both copies to the ignorance of DOB founders Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin, and relocated the magazine to Reno, causing an uproar. The Ladder ran for two more years before it outgrew its finances and folded in September 1972. Said Grier about her role in the controversy, "You have to understand that none of these things were done with malice aforethought or with intention to damage. I mean I was just as much a light-eyed maniac then as I am now in terms of the mission. The mission is that the lesbians shall inherit the earth, you see."
Naiad Press
Grier had been in a relationship with Helen Bennett for 20 years when librarian Donna McBride fell in love with her. Grier left Bennett for McBride and claims it was the only decision she ever agonized about.Grier and partner Donna McBride began running Naiad Press at the support and urging of two editors of The Ladder, Anyda Marchant and Muriel Crawford in 1973. Their first published work was The Latecomer written by Marchant under the pen name Sarah Aldridge
Sarah Aldridge
Sarah Aldridge was the pen name of Anyda Marchant , who was a founding partner for Naiad Press 1973 and A&M Books in 1995, and a writer of primarily lesbian popular fiction....
. Naiad was run from Kansas City until 1980 when it relocated to Tallahassee, Florida
Tallahassee, Florida
Tallahassee is the capital of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County, and is the 128th largest city in the United States. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2010, the population recorded by...
. Both women continued to work full time until 1982 when they dedicated all their time to the publishing company.
Authors represented by Naiad include Valerie Taylor, Katherine V. Forrest
Katherine V. Forrest
Katherine V. Forrest is an American writer.Forrest is best known for her eight novels about lesbian police detective Kate Delafield. The character was the very first lesbian police detective in the American lesbian mystery genre and is described as "Miss Marple with k.d...
, Jane Rule
Jane Rule
Jane Vance Rule, CM, OBC was a Canadian writer of lesbian-themed novels and non-fiction.-Biography:Born in Plainfield, New Jersey, Jane Vance Rule was the oldest daughter of Carlotta Jane and Arthur Richards Rule. She claimed she was a tomboy growing up and felt like an outsider for reaching six...
, Ann Bannon
Ann Bannon
Ann Bannon is an American author who, from 1957 to 1962, wrote six lesbian pulp fiction novels known as The Beebo Brinker Chronicles. The books' enduring popularity and impact on lesbian identity has earned her the title "Queen of Lesbian Pulp Fiction"...
's reprinted Beebo Brinker Chronicles, and Gale Wilhelm
Gale Wilhelm
Gale Wilhelm was an American writer most noted for two books that featured lesbian themes written in the 1930s: We Too Are Drifting and Torchlight to Valhalla.- Early life :...
, whom Grier spent several years attempting to locate to bring out of obscurity. One of the most controversial of these was Lesbian Nuns: Breaking Silence, a work of non-fiction that was banned in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
and criticized by the Catholic Church. Penthouse Forum ran a series from the book and it made Naiad an internationally-known publishing name.
Grier used her extensive lesbian literature collection, what she termed "Lesbiana" at Naiad. By 1994, the company had a staff of 8 and projected sales of $1.8 million US. In 1992, Grier and McBride donated Naiad's entire collection to the San Francisco Public Library
San Francisco Public Library
The San Francisco Public Library is a public library system serving the city of San Francisco. Its main library is located in San Francisco's Civic Center, at 100 Larkin Street at Grove. The first public library of San Francisco officially opened in 1879, just 30 years after the California Gold...
, which consisted of a tractor trailer full of 14,000 books estimated at $400,000 US. What began as a search became a self-described obsession for Grier. She worked with Jeannette Howard Foster
Jeannette Howard Foster
Jeannette Howard Foster was a researcher in the field of lesbian literature. She pioneered the study of popular fiction and ephemera in order to excavate lesbian themes both overt and covert, and her years of pioneering data collection culminated in her 1956 study Sex Variant Women in Literature,...
and Marion Zimmer Bradley
Marion Zimmer Bradley
Marion Eleanor Zimmer Bradley was an American author of fantasy novels such as The Mists of Avalon and the Darkover series. Many critics have noted a feminist perspective in her writing. Her first child, David R...
to compile the largest collection of books with lesbian themes in the English language, they called The Lesbian in Literature. Books were rated from A to D referencing how important lesbian characters were to the plot, or T, indicating the book was "trash".
In 1985 Grier earned the President's Award for Lifetime Service from the Gay Academic Union
Gay Academic Union
The Gay Academic Union was a group of LGBT academics who aimed at making the academia more amenable to the LGBT community. It was formed in April 1973, just four years after the Stonewall riots,, held 4 yearly conferences and conducted other scholarly activities...
. In 1991, Grier and McBride, representing Naiad Press, was given the Lambda Literary Award for Publisher's Service. Grier and McBride were given the Lambda Literary Pioneer Award in 2002. Grier and McBride sold the Naiad backlist to Bella Books
Bella Books
Bella Books is a small press publisher of lesbian literature that is based in Tallahassee, Florida. The chief executive officer is Linda Hill, who is also the chief executive officer of Spinsters Ink and BeanPole Books....
in 2003.
Further reading
- San Francisco Public Library Online Exhibition
- Bella Books website
- Gene Damon and Stuart Lee, The Lesbian in Literature (San Francisco: Daughters of Bilitis, 1967)