Barbara Grier, publisher, activist, archivist and lesbian-feminist hellraiser, died November 10th in Tallahassee, Florida, where she had lived for years with her partner of four decades, Donna McBride. She was 78.
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In 1956 she began writing for the newly founded lesbian magazine, The Ladder, which was the editorial organ of Daughters of Bilitis. Both DoB and The Ladder were founded by Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon.
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In 1973, with her new partner in love and business, Donna McBride, and author Anyda Marchant (who wrote lesbian fiction under the name Sarah Aldridge) and Marchant’s lover Muriel Crawford, Naiad Books (later Naiad Press) was founded with $2,000 the women pooled. Aldridge would be their first author, and lesbian photographer and artist Tee Corinne would be their cover artist.
Those who have grown up being able to go to the local library or bookstore and buy LGBT books can’t imagine a time when they didn’t exist. But Naiad began at a time when queer books weren’t stocked. That mailing list came in handy, Grier told me, because Naiad started as a mail order business.
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Grier was an irascible character, a throwback to the early days of publishing–she always had a point of view, she always believed she was right and she was always, always passionate. ...
Click on the Lambda Literary link at the beginning of this post to read the rest of this article - much more about this inspirational and revolutionary woman: lesbian, author, publisher, and more.
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