Elsa Gidlow
American poet / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about Elsa Gidlow?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
Elsa Gidlow (29 December 1898 – 8 June 1986) was a British-born, Canadian-American poet, freelance journalist, philosopher and humanitarian. She is best known for writing On a Grey Thread (1923), the first volume of openly lesbian love poetry published in North America.[2] In the 1950s, Gidlow helped found Druid Heights, a bohemian community in Marin County, California.[3] She was the author of thirteen books and appeared as herself in the documentary film, Word Is Out: Stories of Some of Our Lives (1977).[4][5] Completed just before her death, her autobiography, Elsa, I Come with My Songs (1986), recounts her life story.[6] It is the first complete-life, lesbian autobiography published where the author "outs" herself and does not employ a pseudonym.
Elsa Gidlow | |
---|---|
Born | Elsie Alice Gidlow (1898-12-29)29 December 1898 Hull, Yorkshire, England |
Died | 8 June 1986(1986-06-08) (aged 87) Mill Valley, California, United States |
Occupation |
|
Education | Self-educated[1]: 104 |
Period | 1917–1986 |
Genre | Love poetry, essays, autobiography |
Subject | Love, beauty, politics, protest, mysticism, nature |
Literary movement | Lesbian literature Feminist literature |
Notable works | On A Grey Thread (1923) Elsa, I Come with My Songs (1986) |
Partner | Isabel Grenfell Quallo (1945–1964) "Tommy" Violet Henry-Anderson (1924–1935†) Muriel Symington (1922) |
Relatives | Thea (sister) |