Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-12-13
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  WINDY CITY TIMES

In Search of Pure Lust in 70s & 80 lesbian feminist movement Sept. 29
2018-09-08

This article shared 1541 times since Sat Sep 8, 2018
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email


A Quest for Love During the Heady Lesbian Feminist Movement of the 70s & 80s.

By turns hot and cold, raunchy and literate, Buddhist and Sapphist, this is a generous, complex complement to any story or study of women. Weil makes me grateful to have shared this history.

—Kate Clinton, humourist/author, a.k.a. Jane

When Lise Weil came out in 1976, lesbian desire was the pulsing center of an entire way of life, a culture, a movement. The air throbbed with possibility, a heightened erotic intensity that Weil believed was the source of all vital knowledge. Desire was her guiding light.

Yet after fifteen years of torrid but ultimately failed relationships which tended to mirror the tumultuous political currents of the time, Weil had to admit to herself that desire was also a conduit for childhood wounds; it reared its head when she was feeling wary and estranged, and flagged in the presence of fondness and trust. And it often trumped love.

Now, in her new memoir, In Search of Pure Lust ( She Writes Press; June 5th ), Weil shares her immersion in this heady experiment of the '70s and '80s with endearing vulnerability and unabashed candor. Within these pages come to life the intellectual and sexual passions that sparked the politics of the time. Feminists, and above all lesbians, were reinventing everything from the ground up, beginning with their own lives.

At its heart, however, In Search of Pure Lust is a universal and deeply personal story about the search for love by a high-profile feminist consciously motivated by only the purest feelings for women, who paradoxically is also partner in a series of lesbian relationships marked by injury, betrayal and disconnection. After Weil finds herself attending a local Zen session retreat, her quest takes an interesting turn; as her Buddhist practice deepens, and hot-headed lesbian desire duels with spacious Zen mind, snarkiness gives way to tenderness and mystery. In the end, Weil makes peace with her ideas about what love is supposed to look and feel like and comes to understand that there are infinite ways to love and be loved.

Lise Weil founded Trivia: A Journal of Ideas, an award-winning radical feminist literary and political magazine, in 1982, for nine years. She was also editor of its online relaunch, Trivia: Voices of Feminism, from 2004 to 2011. In 1990, she translated German writer Christina Thurner-Rohr's collection of essays Vagabonding:

Feminist Thinking Cut Loose ( Vagabundinnen ), which was published by Beacon Press. She founded the online journal Dark Matter: Women Witnessing in 2014 to provide a home for writing. Dark Matter publishes writing and artwork created in response to an age of massive species loss and ecological collapse. Weil's short fiction, essays, reviews, literary nonfiction, and translations have been published widely in journals in both Canada and the US. Her collection of Mary Meigs's writings on aging, Beyond Recall ( 2005 ), was a finalist for a Lambda Literary Award in biography in 2006. Weil teaches in the Individualized Master's program in Goddard College's Graduate Institute. She lives in Montreal and spends summers in a cabin in the woods north of the city, where she hosts annual retreats for women writers centered around dreamwork.

Reading and Discussion on Saturday, Sept. 29 of In Search of Pure Lust: A Memoir by Lise Weil. A quest for love during the heady lesbian feminist movement of the 70s & 80s. 4 p.m. at Barbaras Bookstore, 111 N. State St., Chicago.

.

She Writes Press, 978-1-63152-385-4, $16.95 paperback, $9.95 ebook.

—From a press release


This article shared 1541 times since Sat Sep 8, 2018
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

Kara Swisher talks truth, power in tech at Chicago Humanities event
2024-03-25
Lesbian author, award-winning journalist and podcast host Kara Swisher spoke about truth and power in the tech industry through the lens of her most recent book, Burn Book: A Tech Love Story, March 21 at First ...


Gay News

THEATER Chicago's City Lit has anxiety on tap with 'Two Hours in a Bar'
2024-03-21
Two Hours in a Bar Waiting for Tina Meyer by Kristine Thatcher with material by Larry Shue Text Me by Kingsley Day (Book, Music and Lyrics). At: City Lit Theater, 1020 W. Bryn Mawr Ave.. Tickets: ...


Gay News

RuPaul finds 'Hidden Meanings' in new memoir
2024-03-18
RuPaul Andre Charles made a rare Chicago appearance for a book tour on March 12 at The Vic Theatre, 3145 N. Sheffield Ave. Presented by National Public Radio station WBEZ 91.5 FM, the talk coincided with ...


Gay News

Almost 8% of U.S. residents identify as LGBTQ+
2024-03-16
The proportion of U.S. adults identifying as LGBTQ+ continues to increase. LGBTQ+ identification in the U.S. continues to grow, with 7.6% of U.S. adults now identifying as LGBTQ+, according to the newest Gallup poll results that ...


Gay News

Women's History Month doesn't do enough to lift up Black lesbians
2024-03-12
Fifty years ago, in 1974, the Combahee River Collective (CRC) was founded in Boston by several lesbian and feminist women of African descent. As a sisterhood, they understood that their acts of protest were shouldered by ...


Gay News

No 'explanations' needed: Affinity remains a haven for Chicago's Black queer community
2024-03-12
Back in 2007, Anna DeShawn came out while she was studying for her undergraduate degree. At around the same time, she searched online for "Black lesbians in Chicago." Her search led her to Affinity Community Services, ...


Gay News

NATIONAL Altercation, mpox research, Univ. of Fla., George Santos, tech battle
2024-03-08
Video footage uploaded to Facebook showed an altercation between a state trooper and two prominent Philadelphia LGBTQ+ leaders, the Washington Blade reported, republishing an article from Philadelphia Gay News. Celena ...


Gay News

Affinity Community Services' Latonya Maley announces departure
2024-03-06
Latonya Maley, executive director of Affinity Community Services, announced March 6 that she would be stepping down from her post. The announcement came from a statement with Affinity board members. Maley said that, "It has been ...


Gay News

LPAC celebrates historic wins for LGBTQ+ candidates in Super Tuesday primaries
2024-03-06
From a press release: Washington, DC—Today, LPAC,the nation's leading organization dedicated to electing LGBTQ+ women and nonbinary candidates to public office, proudly announces the outstanding victories of 67% of endorsed candidates ...


Gay News

THEATER 'R & J' puts a female, queer spin on Shakespeare
2024-03-05
Romeo and Juliet is the theatrical gift that keeps on giving. It's been reworked for the masses numerous times, whether in direct adaptations or musicals such as West Side Story. Shakespeare's plotline points have even inspired ...


Gay News

Without compromise: Holly Baggett explores lives of iconoclasts Margaret Anderson and Jane Heap
2024-03-04
Jane Heap (1883-1964) and Margaret Anderson (1886-1973), each of them a native Midwesterner, woman of letters and iconoclast, had a profound influence on literary culture in both America and Europe in the early 20th Century. Heap ...


Gay News

There she goes again: Author Alison Cochrun discusses writing journey
2024-02-27
By Carrie Maxwell When Alison Cochrun began writing her first queer romance novel in 2019, she had no idea it would change the course of her entire life. Cochrun, who spent 11 years as a high ...


Gay News

Brittney Griner's jersey retired at Baylor University
2024-02-20
On Feb. 18, Baylor University retired Brittney Griner's #42 jersey. Griner—a two-time AP national player of the year, two-time Olympic gold medalist and the NCAA women's career blocks leader (with 748)—attended a Bears home game ...


Gay News

Theater Review: Billy Elliot, The Musical
2024-02-19
Book and Lyrics: Lee Hall; Music: Elton John. At: Paramount Theatre, 23 E. Galena Blvd., Aurora Tickets: 630-896-6666 or Paramountaurora.com; $28-$79. Runs through March 24 Billy Elliot: The Musical may nearly be two decades old, but ...


Gay News

Second Glance Productions hosts LGBTQupid Soiree
2024-02-16
In celebration of Valentine's Day, Chicago based film and media production company Second Glance hosted The LBGTQupid Soiree. The event, which was focused on spinning attitudes on this particular day, was presented at The iO ...


 


Copyright © 2024 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS







Sponsor


 



Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.