Common Lives / Lesbian Lives
Name/Title
Common Lives / Lesbian LivesEntry/Object ID
2024.4.9Description
Common Lives/Lesbian Lives (CL/LL) was a collectively produced lesbian quarterly published out of Iowa City, Iowa, from 1981 to 1996. The magazine had a stated commitment to reflect the diversity of lesbians by actively soliciting the work of lesbians of color, Jewish lesbians, fat lesbians, lesbians over fifty and under twenty years old, disabled lesbians, poor and working-class lesbians, and lesbians of varying cultural backgrounds. Most of its contributors were previously unpublished, but it did feature works by Tee A. Corinne, Elana Dykewomon, Ruth Mountaingrove and Sapphire. HOLDINGS: Complete set, #1-#55, 1981-1995.Context
Common Lives/Lesbian Lives was a cultural milestone in the lesbian publishing world, as it was one of the first Lesbian journals or magazines published from outside the urban/coastal New York/Los Angeles/Berkeley scene. It began with a group of eight Lesbians in Los Angeles being encouraged by Catherine Nicholson and Harriet Desmoines, co-founders of "Sinister Wisdom," to establish a new publication since "Sinister Wisdom" received far more submissions than it could print. Three of those Lesbians - Cindy Cleary, Anne Lee, and Tracy Moore - formed the core group of the collective that would publish "Common Lives/Lesbian Lives" after their collective move to Iowa City, Iowa. Iowa City was an appealing location due to the existence there of the Iowa City Women's Press and a woman-owned typesetting firm. All of the work included in the publication was provided by Lesbians as was most of the volunteer labour involved in its production. However, when the magazine's main distributor, Inland, declared bankruptcy in 1995, the magazine was ultimately no longer able to continue publication.Category
Periodical