Ann Bannon (born 1932) is an American author who wrote six lesbian pulp
fiction novels from 1957 to 1962 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". Bannon was a
young housewife trying to address her own issues of sexuality when she
was inspired to write her first novel. Her subsequent books featured
four characters who reappeared throughout the series, including her
eponymous heroine, Beebo Brinker, who came to embody the archetype of a
butch lesbian. The majority of her characters mirrored people she knew,
but their stories reflected a life she did not feel she was able to
live. Despite her traditional upbringing and role in married life, her
novels defied conventions for romance stories and depictions of
lesbians, by addressing complex homosexual relationships positively
during the morally repressive era of the 1950s and 1960s. Although her
books shaped lesbian identity for lesbians and heterosexuals alike,
Bannon was mostly unaware of their impact. She stopped writing in 1962
and later earned a doctorate in linguistics and became an academic. She
endured a difficult marriage for 27 years and as she separated from her
husband in the 1980s, her books were republished and she was stunned to
learn of their influence on society. They were released again in 2001,
and have been adapted as an award-winning Off-Broadway production. They
are taught in Women's and LGBT studies courses, and Bannon has been
given numerous awards for pioneering lesbian and gay literature.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ann_Bannon>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1240:
Swedish–Novgorodian Wars: A Novgorodian army led by Alexander Nevsky
defeated the Swedes on the Neva River near Ust-Izhora, present-day
Russia.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Neva>
1410:
The Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania defeated the
Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights in the Battle of Grunwald, the
decisive engagement of the Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Grunwald>
1823:
A fire, accidentally started by a workman who was repairing the lead of
the roof, destroyed the ancient Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the
Walls in Rome. The church was restored by 1840.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilica_of_Saint_Paul_Outside_the_Walls>
1870:
Manitoba and the Northwest Territories were established following the
transfer of Rupert's Land and the North-Western Territory from the
Hudson's Bay Company to Canada.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manitoba>
1888:
The volcano Mount Bandai erupted, killing at least 470 people in the
Fukushima Prefecture of Japan.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1888_eruption_of_Mount_Bandai>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
tractable (adj):
1. (obsolete) Capable of being handled or touched; palpable.
2. Capable of being easily led, taught, or managed; docile, manageable
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/tractable>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Choose only one master — Nature.
--Rembrandt
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Rembrandt>
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