Terri de la Peña is a novelist, short story writer, and children's book author whose writings deal with complex issues of identity, homophobia, assimilation and resistance focusing on the lives of Chicana lesbians. This collection contains materials related to the creation, dissemination, publication and revision of both fictional and nonfictional works by Terri de la Peña. The bulk of the collection is comprised of drafts of her first novel, Margins, also considered to be the first Chicana lesbian novel. The collection also includes correspondence, contractual information, promotional materials, drafts and notes.

Mary Theresa de la Peña was born on February 20, 1947 in Santa Monica, California. She is a fifth-generation Californian. Her father, Joaquin de la Peña, was a tire repair foreman while her mother, Juanita Escobedo, owned a beauty shop. De la Peña was educated in Santa Monica parochial schools and at Santa Monica Community College. She is a self-taught writer. She wrote her first novel, Margins, while employed as an academic affairs assistant with the College of Letters and Science at the University of California, Los Angeles. The majority of her work is in short story form although she also wrote several novels; she was nominated for the Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Fiction for her 1999 novel Faults. Her narratives revolve around the myriad cultural and social issues facing Chicana lesbians such as a search for identity, cultural assimilation, class consciousness, historical awareness, internal and external racism, homophobia, and visibility.

7.5 linear feet (15 document boxes)

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