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Caitlin Shanley
They Dared Not Show the World: A Research Guide to Lesbian Pulp Fiction for UNC undergraduates
INLS 501 - April 2008
She blushed. "All men want to do is get their hands on you all the time. They just go by the way you look, they don't care how you really are."
"And how are you really?"
"I don't know," Barby said slowly. "It's like I'm waiting to find out." - The Girls in 3-B
Introduction
"Lesbian pulp fiction" refers to a genre of popular fiction published mostly from 1950 (the year the first paperback book was published) to about 1969 (the year theStonewall Riots kickstarted the Gay Rights Movement). Sensational and explicit, these volumes were available at drugstores and were inexpensive enough to throw away when you were done with them. While not necessarily written by or even for women, these books were some of the first widely distributed works to openly discuss lesbian life and love, and were thus considered "survival" tools by many lesbian women at the time. Because of this historic role, these works have recently re-entered academia as volumes worthy of study by researchers interested in LGBTQ literature and history, women's studies, and popular fiction.
Getting started with research in these areas can be tough, so the UNC Libraries have composed a number of research guides to help you get started, including a subject specific guide on Feminism and Literature: A Guide for Research.
Finding Primary Sources
Locating primary sources can sound intimidating, but is ultimately a fun and fulfilling research effort. UNC Libraries have composed a guide about Finding Primary Source Documents to help you jump right in. Since lesbian pulp fiction is a form of literature, a good research paper will begin with looking at some primary source works.
The UNC Libraries hold reprints of classic lesbian pulp texts, including works by well-known authors Ann Bannon and Valerie Taylor, among others, and in the outstanding anthology, Lesbian Pulp Fiction: The Sexually Intrepid World of Lesbian Paperback Novels, 1950-1965. A catalog search for specific titles or authors can help you locate reprints of volumes you may be interested in (Duke has compiled a goodlist of titles and summaries that you can start with, or check out some selections from the Lesbian Pulp Fiction anthology online as a Google Book).
Another great place to look for primary sources is within archives and special collections. Duke University houses one of the world's largest archival collections of lesbian (and gay male) pulps in their Rare Books, Manuscripts, and Special Collections Library (RBMSCL). Duke welcomes researchers from UNC and is located just eight miles up the road; there is even a FREE bus that runs from Franklin Street to just in front of the RBMSCL every half hour.
Other archival institutions that collect lesbian pulp fiction include:
Mount St. Vincent University
Lesbian Herstory Archives
Cornell University's Human Sexuality Collection
University of Waterloo
Check out their websites for helpful research guides and references to other sources.
Searching the library catalog
One good way to start your research is to locate books in the UNC Libraries catalog that pertain to your topic. It is easy to perform a search by subject heading in the catalog from this page. Here are some suggested Library of Congress Subject Headings to get you started:
Lesbians' writings, American -- History and criticism.
Lesbians' writings, English -- History and criticism.
Pulp literature -- History and criticism.
Lesbians in literature.
Homosexuality and literature -- United States -- History -- 20th century.
Women and literature -- United States -- History -- 20th century.
American fiction -- Women authors -- History and criticism.
American fiction -- 20th century -- History and criticism.
Lesbians -- United States -- Intellectual life.
Paperbacks -- Publishing -- United States -- History -- 20th century.
Secondary Sources
What follows is a list of secondary source material to consider as you continue your research.
Print Resources
Reference books:
Server, L. (2002). Encyclopedia of pulp fiction writers. New York: Facts on File. (Davis Reference PS374.P63 S45 2002)
Worell, J. (2001). Encyclopedia of women and gender: Sex similarities and differences and the impact of society on gender. San Diego, Calif.; London: Academic. (Davis Stacks HQ1115 .E52 2001)
Neuburg, V. E. (1983). The popular press companion to popular literature. Bowling Green, Ohio: Bowling Green State University Popular Press. (Davis Stacks/Undergrad Library Reference PR149.P66 N42 1983)
Neuburg, V. E. (1982). The Batsford companion to popular literature. London: Batsford Academic and Educational. (Davis Stacks PR149.P66 N395 1982)
Grier, B. (1981). The lesbian in literature (3rd ed.). Tallahassee, Fla.: Naiad Press. (Davis Reference Z5866.L4 D3 1981)
Lofficier, J., & Lofficier, R. (2000). French science fiction, fantasy, horror and pulp fiction: A guide to cinema, television, radio, animation, comic books and literature from the middle ages to the present. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland. (Davis Reference PQ637.F3 L64 2000)
Marshall, A. K. (1985). Pen names of women writers: From 1600 to the present: A compendium of the literary identities of 2650 women novelists, playwrights, poets, diarists, journalists and miscellaneous writers, fully cross-referenced. Camp Hill, PA 211 N. 17th St., Camp Hill 17011: Copies from Alice Marshall Collection. (Davis Reference Z1041 .M34 1985)
General collection books:
Stryker, S. (2001). Queer pulp: Perverted passions from the golden age of the paperback. San Francisco: Chronicle Books. (Davis PS374.H63 S77 2001)
Jones, S. L. (1998). Gay and lesbian literature since World War II: History and memory. New York: Haworth Press. (Davis PS153.G38 G39 1998)
Leland, J. (2004). Hip, the history. New York: Ecco. (Davis/Undergrad Library E169.1 .L527 2004)
Zimmerman, B. (1990). The safe sea of women: Lesbian fiction, 1969-1989. Boston: Beacon Press. (Davis PN56.L45 Z56 1990)
D'Emilio, J. (1998). Sexual politics, sexual communities: The making of a homosexual minority in the united states, 1940-1970 (2nd ed.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. (Davis/Undergrad Library Reserves Reading Room HQ76.8.U5 D45 1998)
Foster, J. H. (1956). Sex variant women in literature: a historical and quantitative survey (1st ed.). New York: Vantage Press. (Davis PN56.S53 F6)
Smith, P. J. (1999). The queer sixties. New York: Routledge. (Davis PS153.G38 Q44 1999)
Electronic Resources
Databases:
Online databases are one of the best ways to find scholarly articles related to your research paper topics. From the E-Research Tools page of the UNC Libraries website, you can browse databases by name or subject.
Here are some recommended databases that aggregate LGBTQ and Women's Studies materials that may be a good place to start:
GenderWatch
Databases about literature, where you may find articles about popular and pulp fiction, include:
Literature in Context
E-Journals/Books:
You may find it easier to search within specific online journals to find what you need. The following recommended journals have published articles about topics like lesbian pulp fiction in the past, but they are by no means the only journals where you may find useful articles.
Off Our Backs
Nealon, C. S., & ebrary, I. (2001). Foundlings: Lesbian and gay historical emotion before Stonewall. Durham: Duke University Press, available through http://webcat.lib.unc.edu/record=b5564090.
Websites:
Subject guide from Duke's Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History and Culture, available at http://library.duke.edu/specialcollections/bingham/guides/lesbianpulp/index.html.
Bianco, D. (1999). "The heyday of lesbian pulp novels." Queer history, available at http://www.planetout.com/news/history/archive/07191999.html.
"Pulp fiction." Library of Congress Serial and Government Publications Division, available at http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/awhhtml/awser2/pulp_fiction.html.
Lesbian Pulp Fiction Wiki, available at http://lesbianpulpfiction.pbwiki.com/.
Glbtq >> literature >> romance novels, available at http://www.glbtq.com/literature/romance_novels.html.
Multimedia:
Interview with writer Ann Bannon : NPR, available at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1407161.
Brenner, B. (1999-2004). Lesbian paperback covers, available at http://www.vintagepbks.com/lesbiancovers.html.
Preview for the 1985 filmDesert Hearts, which was, available athttp://youtube.com/watch?v=Dn0vORrRIyI.
Questions or comments?Contact me or, as always, ask a librarian!
INLS 501 - April 2008
She blushed. "All men want to do is get their hands on you all the time. They just go by the way you look, they don't care how you really are."
"And how are you really?"
"I don't know," Barby said slowly. "It's like I'm waiting to find out." - The Girls in 3-B
Introduction
"Lesbian pulp fiction" refers to a genre of popular fiction published mostly from 1950 (the year the first paperback book was published) to about 1969 (the year theStonewall Riots kickstarted the Gay Rights Movement). Sensational and explicit, these volumes were available at drugstores and were inexpensive enough to throw away when you were done with them. While not necessarily written by or even for women, these books were some of the first widely distributed works to openly discuss lesbian life and love, and were thus considered "survival" tools by many lesbian women at the time. Because of this historic role, these works have recently re-entered academia as volumes worthy of study by researchers interested in LGBTQ literature and history, women's studies, and popular fiction.
Getting started with research in these areas can be tough, so the UNC Libraries have composed a number of research guides to help you get started, including a subject specific guide on Feminism and Literature: A Guide for Research.
Finding Primary Sources
Locating primary sources can sound intimidating, but is ultimately a fun and fulfilling research effort. UNC Libraries have composed a guide about Finding Primary Source Documents to help you jump right in. Since lesbian pulp fiction is a form of literature, a good research paper will begin with looking at some primary source works.
The UNC Libraries hold reprints of classic lesbian pulp texts, including works by well-known authors Ann Bannon and Valerie Taylor, among others, and in the outstanding anthology, Lesbian Pulp Fiction: The Sexually Intrepid World of Lesbian Paperback Novels, 1950-1965. A catalog search for specific titles or authors can help you locate reprints of volumes you may be interested in (Duke has compiled a goodlist of titles and summaries that you can start with, or check out some selections from the Lesbian Pulp Fiction anthology online as a Google Book).
Another great place to look for primary sources is within archives and special collections. Duke University houses one of the world's largest archival collections of lesbian (and gay male) pulps in their Rare Books, Manuscripts, and Special Collections Library (RBMSCL). Duke welcomes researchers from UNC and is located just eight miles up the road; there is even a FREE bus that runs from Franklin Street to just in front of the RBMSCL every half hour.
Other archival institutions that collect lesbian pulp fiction include:
Mount St. Vincent University
Lesbian Herstory Archives
Cornell University's Human Sexuality Collection
University of Waterloo
Check out their websites for helpful research guides and references to other sources.
Searching the library catalog
One good way to start your research is to locate books in the UNC Libraries catalog that pertain to your topic. It is easy to perform a search by subject heading in the catalog from this page. Here are some suggested Library of Congress Subject Headings to get you started:
Lesbians' writings, American -- History and criticism.
Lesbians' writings, English -- History and criticism.
Pulp literature -- History and criticism.
Lesbians in literature.
Homosexuality and literature -- United States -- History -- 20th century.
Women and literature -- United States -- History -- 20th century.
American fiction -- Women authors -- History and criticism.
American fiction -- 20th century -- History and criticism.
Lesbians -- United States -- Intellectual life.
Paperbacks -- Publishing -- United States -- History -- 20th century.
Secondary Sources
What follows is a list of secondary source material to consider as you continue your research.
Print Resources
Reference books:
Server, L. (2002). Encyclopedia of pulp fiction writers. New York: Facts on File. (Davis Reference PS374.P63 S45 2002)
Worell, J. (2001). Encyclopedia of women and gender: Sex similarities and differences and the impact of society on gender. San Diego, Calif.; London: Academic. (Davis Stacks HQ1115 .E52 2001)
Neuburg, V. E. (1983). The popular press companion to popular literature. Bowling Green, Ohio: Bowling Green State University Popular Press. (Davis Stacks/Undergrad Library Reference PR149.P66 N42 1983)
Neuburg, V. E. (1982). The Batsford companion to popular literature. London: Batsford Academic and Educational. (Davis Stacks PR149.P66 N395 1982)
Grier, B. (1981). The lesbian in literature (3rd ed.). Tallahassee, Fla.: Naiad Press. (Davis Reference Z5866.L4 D3 1981)
Lofficier, J., & Lofficier, R. (2000). French science fiction, fantasy, horror and pulp fiction: A guide to cinema, television, radio, animation, comic books and literature from the middle ages to the present. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland. (Davis Reference PQ637.F3 L64 2000)
Marshall, A. K. (1985). Pen names of women writers: From 1600 to the present: A compendium of the literary identities of 2650 women novelists, playwrights, poets, diarists, journalists and miscellaneous writers, fully cross-referenced. Camp Hill, PA 211 N. 17th St., Camp Hill 17011: Copies from Alice Marshall Collection. (Davis Reference Z1041 .M34 1985)
General collection books:
Stryker, S. (2001). Queer pulp: Perverted passions from the golden age of the paperback. San Francisco: Chronicle Books. (Davis PS374.H63 S77 2001)
Jones, S. L. (1998). Gay and lesbian literature since World War II: History and memory. New York: Haworth Press. (Davis PS153.G38 G39 1998)
Leland, J. (2004). Hip, the history. New York: Ecco. (Davis/Undergrad Library E169.1 .L527 2004)
Zimmerman, B. (1990). The safe sea of women: Lesbian fiction, 1969-1989. Boston: Beacon Press. (Davis PN56.L45 Z56 1990)
D'Emilio, J. (1998). Sexual politics, sexual communities: The making of a homosexual minority in the united states, 1940-1970 (2nd ed.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. (Davis/Undergrad Library Reserves Reading Room HQ76.8.U5 D45 1998)
Foster, J. H. (1956). Sex variant women in literature: a historical and quantitative survey (1st ed.). New York: Vantage Press. (Davis PN56.S53 F6)
Smith, P. J. (1999). The queer sixties. New York: Routledge. (Davis PS153.G38 Q44 1999)
Electronic Resources
Databases:
Online databases are one of the best ways to find scholarly articles related to your research paper topics. From the E-Research Tools page of the UNC Libraries website, you can browse databases by name or subject.
Here are some recommended databases that aggregate LGBTQ and Women's Studies materials that may be a good place to start:
GenderWatch
- Full text articles from a huge array of magazines, journals, newsletters, proceedings, reports, etc., all of which discuss women's and gender issues.
- Contains materials from books to bibliographies, reporting on women's social and political activism.
Databases about literature, where you may find articles about popular and pulp fiction, include:
Literature in Context
- Collection of materials designed to provide historical and culture context for works of literature.
- Huge index compiled by the Modern Language Association, including references to articles in criticism, cultural studies, linguistics, and more.
- Critical and biographical information about authors from a wide range of literary periods.
- Full text articles, with a focus on humanities and social science publications.
E-Journals/Books:
You may find it easier to search within specific online journals to find what you need. The following recommended journals have published articles about topics like lesbian pulp fiction in the past, but they are by no means the only journals where you may find useful articles.
Off Our Backs
- "Alternative press" journal focusing on women's issues, with a concentration on lesbian culture.
- Scholarly journal with academic articles on various topics in women's studies.
- Documents various feminist perspectives, while publishing both scholarly research and reflective prose.
Nealon, C. S., & ebrary, I. (2001). Foundlings: Lesbian and gay historical emotion before Stonewall. Durham: Duke University Press, available through http://webcat.lib.unc.edu/record=b5564090.
Websites:
Subject guide from Duke's Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History and Culture, available at http://library.duke.edu/specialcollections/bingham/guides/lesbianpulp/index.html.
- Comprised of novel summaries, bibliographic references, and external links, the Bingham Center's subject guide is an amazing resource for learning more about their collections, as well as lesbian pulp fiction as a whole.
Bianco, D. (1999). "The heyday of lesbian pulp novels." Queer history, available at http://www.planetout.com/news/history/archive/07191999.html.
- Brief historical article from the GLBTQ popular culture site, Planet Out.
"Pulp fiction." Library of Congress Serial and Government Publications Division, available at http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/awhhtml/awser2/pulp_fiction.html.
- Homepage for the Pulp Fiction collection at the Library of Congress. Provides some background information and helpful searching tips.
Lesbian Pulp Fiction Wiki, available at http://lesbianpulpfiction.pbwiki.com/.
- Though it has not been highly refined, this collaborative encyclopedia page has the potential to provide a wealth of information on lesbian pulp fiction. Check out some of the pages (click the"Show all pages" link at the bottom), and maybe even contribute some of your own knowledge!
Glbtq >> literature >> romance novels, available at http://www.glbtq.com/literature/romance_novels.html.
- Article on lesbian romance novels fromglbtq, the online encylopedia of queer culture. Discusses the history of gay, lesbian, and transgender novels, as well as how those traditions translate into contemporary literature.
Multimedia:
Interview with writer Ann Bannon : NPR, available at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1407161.
- From the National Public Radio archives, a 1999 "Fresh Air" interview with lesbian pulp fiction author Ann Bannon.
Brenner, B. (1999-2004). Lesbian paperback covers, available at http://www.vintagepbks.com/lesbiancovers.html.
- Personal website created by an avid fan of early paperback fiction. Consists mostly of scans of cover images, which can be fun and interesting to peruse. Includes a page dedicated to "Lesbiana," as well as guides to other areas of pulp fiction.
Preview for the 1985 filmDesert Hearts, which was, available athttp://youtube.com/watch?v=Dn0vORrRIyI.
- Loosely based on a pulp fiction novel by Jane Rule, this film has all of the trappings of a lesbian pulp fiction novel: an impressionable lady in a new town, a failing marriage, a blonde and a brunette, a lesbian woman with a "bad reputation," etc....
- See also, theInternet Movie Database (IMDB) page forDesert Hearts.
Questions or comments?Contact me or, as always, ask a librarian!
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