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Title: Elsa Gidlow papers
Dates: 1898-1986 (bulk 1920-1986)
Collection Number: 1991-16
Creator/Collector:
Extent: 13 linear feet
Online items available
Repository:
GLBT Historical Society
San Francisco, California 94103
Abstract: Elsa Gidlow was a lesbian poet, journalist, and woman of letters who in 1923 published the first book of openly lesbian poetry.
The collection contains her correspondence, subject files, manuscripts, published works, journals, audiovisual materials,
and ephemera.
Language of Material: English
Collection is open for research.
Copyright to unpublished manuscript materials is not held by the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Historical Society.
[Identification of item]. Elsa Gidlow papers. Collection Number: 1991-16. GLBT Historical Society
The Elsa Gidlow Papers (#1991-16) were donated to the GLBT Historical Society in 1991.
Biography/Administrative History
Elsa Gidlow (29 December 1898 – 8 June 1986) was a lesbian poet, philosopher, and woman of letters. Her book On a Grey Thread
(1923) was the first collection of openly lesbian love poetry published in North America, and her autobiography, Elsa: I Come
With My Songs (1986) was the first lesbian autobiography whose author did not publish under a pseudonym. In 1954, she purchased
a ranch which she named Druid Heights and used as both a personal home and a retreat for fellow artists, feminists, and bohemians.
An appearance in the 1977 documentary Word is Out: Stories of Some of Our Lives brought a larger audience to Gidlow, who lived
her long life outside of the closet and in queer community.
Scope and Content of Collection
The content of this collection (13 linear feet) documents Elsa Gidlow's personal life, public activity and literary accomplishments
from 1920 until her death in 1986. The Papers are divided into nine series:
Title: Correspondence,
Title: Subject Files,
Title: Manuscripts,
Title: Published Works,
Title: Journals and Yearbooks,
Title: Audio-Visual and Photographs,
Title: Ephemera,
Title: Oversize Materials,
and
Title: Original Documents.
Lesbians
Literature