Holly hughes, performance artist and author of clit notes. Stone butch blues was a gripping and consistently sad account of the life of a tough yet sensitive butch and i learned quite a bit from it. Stone butch blues by leslie feinberg was probably my all time favorite book. The first edition of the novel was published in 1993, and was written by leslie feinberg. Pdf stone butch blues book by leslie feinberg free download. She wrote several books during her lifetime including stone butch blues, transgender warriors. Goodreads members who liked stone butch blues also liked. Pdf stone butch blues book by leslie feinberg free. Full text of stone butch blues 20th anniversary author. Jun 29, 2018 stone butch blues ch 1 read out loud video 1. Near the end of the book, jess tells her friend ruth, when i was growing up, i believed i was gonna do something really important with my life, like explore the universe or cure diseases. English 385 february 24, 2010 stone butch blues stone butch blues opening was different from other books ive read because it begins as a love letter from jess goldberg who is a butch lesbian to her longlost lover theresa. Beyond pink or blue, drag king dreams, and rainbow solidarity in defense of cuba. Franks prose is beautiful and her characters are interestingly complex, which provides a more realistic conceptualization of the butch continuum.
The narrator of stone butch blues both walks achingly alone and tells. This does the canon of american fiction a grave disservice, because feinbergs 1993 novel stone butch blues, the cornerstone of her career, is a very good book by any measure. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 308 pages and is available in hardcover format. Full text of stone butch blues 20th anniversary author edition see other formats.
Leslie feinberg, a writer and activist whose 1993 novel, stone butch blues, is considered a landmark in the contemporary literature of gender complexity, died on nov. Jess definitely had to walk a difficult path in life as was prophecized early on by her neighbors and caretakers. Stone butch blues was a pioneering novel and is beloved by generations of lgbtq people, especially butch and femme lesbians, and transgender, gendernonconforming, and genderfluid people. Gabriella montes stone butch blues leslie feinberg has done an extraordinary deed in her writing of stone butch blues. Feinberg was the first theorist to advance a marxist concept of transgender liberation.
Librarything is a cataloging and social networking site for booklovers. Highly recommended, i dont know if i would have gotten as much out of the novel without this, but im glad i. Enter your zip code below to purchase from an indie close to you. Sold by the hundreds of thousands of copies and also passed from handtohand inside. Stone butch blues is an interesting book which certainly changed my life. Leslie feinbergs stone butch blues is a great novel everyone. Apr 28, 20 english 385 february 24, 2010 stone butch blues stone butch blues opening was different from other books ive read because it begins as a love letter from jess goldberg who is a butch lesbian to her longlost lover theresa. The stone butch blues study guide contains a comprehensive summary and analysis of stone butch blues by leslie feinberg. Leslie feinberg is the author of stone butch blues, and also the author of trans liberation, trans gender warriors, and transgender liberation, and is a noted activist and speaker on transgender issues. Browse the amazon editors picks for the best books of 2019, featuring our favorite reads in. A stone butch blues movie betrays leslie feinbergs legacy.
She has unlocked her soul to anyone who reads and showed us the fears of being different no matter how slight. Stone butch blues 9781563410291 by feinberg, leslie and a great selection of similar new, used and collectible books available now at. Stone butch blues summary and study guide supersummary. Leslie feinbergs stone butch blues is a great novel everyonenot. The protagonist, jessie, tells a tale of lesbian life in the 1960s, where the lines between butch and. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want. Click download or read online button to get stone butch blues book now. Stone butch blues traces a propulsive journey, powerfulyl evoking history and politics while portraying an extraordinary protagonist full of longing, vulnerability, and workingclass grit.
If you loved stone butch blues, here are some followup reads, arranged by theme. Citation formats are based on standards as of july 2010. A sapphic sampler reading this book changed my life. The book has been awarded with stonewall book award for. Stone butch blues ch 1 read out loud video 1 youtube. Cover of the firebrand edition of stone butch blues. I feared i was disappearing and id cease to exist if someone didnt touch me. Opinion the best book for 2018 is 25 years old the new. Discussion questions for stone butch blues to focus our discussion of the middle sections of stone butch blues, id like you to get into small groups see group assignments below and discuss the questions ive posed below.
It is the fictional story of a young woman named jess goldberg and the many problems she faces growing up as a butch in the late1960s. She received numerous awards including the lambda literary award and the american library association gay and lesbian book award. Stone butch blues is a novel written by the revolutionary communist leslie feinberg about life as a butch lesbian in 1970s america. Buy this book this compelling but uneven first novel. Dec 18, 2019 for something more old school butch, feinbergs classic autobiographical novel, stone butch blues, was the breakout text of the genre. Jun 02, 2017 two years ago to the month, i read stone butch blues for the first time.
Trans and queer history and art tends to be informally documented, and even culturally significant works can be. Leslie feinberg september 1, 1949 november 15, 2014 was an american butch lesbian, transgender activist, communist, and author. It unflinchingly reveals the underbelly of butch culture before it was socially acceptableeven in the marginsto be stone, boi, tranny, tomboy, top, futch or whatever serves to define the masculine. Jess, the narrator of stone butch blues, spends the space of the novel looking for a way to authentically exist in the world at large. Stone butch blues, leslie feinbergs 1993 first novel, is widely considered in and outside the u. Stone butch blues, to me, is the greatest, most important queer novel in the world, because it does not only offer an insular experience of difference. Stone butch blues by leslie feinberg 1993 for something more old school butch, feinbergs classic autobiographical novel, stone butch blues, was the breakout text of the genre. Leslie feinberg jess goldberg decides to come out as a butch in the bars and factories of the prefeminist 60s and then to pass as a man in order to survive when she is left without work or a community in the early. Stone butch blues by leslie feinberg, paperback barnes. Stone butch blues, the cornerstone of her career, is a very good book by any measure. She is happy wearing her roy rogers outfit, even in temple.
Free ebook download of stone butch blues in basque pdf. Stone butch blues, which turns 25 this year, has that power. At first i was reading it because i was required to for this course, but i found myself unable to put the book. Full text of stone butch blues 20th anniversary author edition. Queer history and stone butch blues jewish womens archive. It takes jess a year to gather up the courage to go to tifkas and she finds it to be a bar like any other but. Stone butch blues is a 1993 semiautobiographical novel by writer and activist leslie feinberg. It is sort of like an autobiography about her life and the strugglesevents she went through being different. This is my life, and im damn brave to love who i love. A stone butch has every reason to feel the blues in leslie feinbergs criticallyacclaimed, awardwinning novel stone butch blues. Stone butch blues is a novel written by the revolutionary communist leslie feinberg about life. Stone butch blues download ebook pdf, epub, tuebl, mobi. At first i was reading it because i was required to for this course, but i found myself unable to put the book down.
Stone butch blues book by leslie feinberg thriftbooks. Stone butch blues was a pioneering novel and is beloved by generations of lgbtq people, especially butch and femme lesbians, and transgender, gendernonconforming, and. Nov 24, 2014 this does the canon of american fiction a grave disservice, because feinbergs 1993 novel stone butch blues, the cornerstone of her career, is a very good book by any measure. In march of 1993, transgender activist leslie feinberg published a coming of age novel titled stone butch blues. Two years ago to the month, i read stone butch blues for the first time. Her writing, notably stone butch blues and her pioneering nonfiction book 1996s transgender warriors, laid the groundwork for much of the terminology and awareness around gender. I never thought id spend so much of my life fighting over which bathroom i could use. Why is it so hard to find leslie feinbergs stone butch blues. Buy stone butch blues by leslie feinberg online at alibris. The 20th anniversary authors edition of stone butch blues is available in. Leslie feinberg, quote from stone butch blues the loneliness became more and more unbearable. Leslie feinberg broke new ground with this novelized semiautobiography, published in 1993. Jess is aware from a young age that she is different from other girls, and often. In stone butch blues, feinbergs character jess eventually stops taking hormone replacement therapy after realizing that ze prefers to live as a gendernonconforming person, even if it means risking violence.
Stone butch blues, leslie feinbergs 1993 first novel, is considered in and outside the u. The entirety of the novel revolves around the butchfemme subculture. I know this book is highly cherished and i can see why. Jess then meets and courts a trans woman, who becomes hir partner. Stone butch blues traces a propulsive journey, powerfully evoking history and politics while portraying this internationally acclaimed novel looks at the world through the eyes of jess goldberg, a masculine girl growing up in the ozzie and harriet mccarthy era and coming out as a young butch lesbian in the prestonewall gay drag bars of a. Wish i had read this with a book group, so many excellent discussion points and room for knowledge.
Leslie feinberg had made previous appearances in my life, distant traces of hir legacy filtering through references in other books and news of hir death months prior, but it wasnt until mayjune 2015 that i finally sank into feinbergs oeuvre and felt the force of hir most famous book. Find books like stone butch blues from the worlds largest community of readers. Mar 10, 2020 stone butch blues was originally published by firebrand books in 1993, and by alyson books in 2003. Why is it so hard to find leslie feinbergs stone butch. From her earliest memories, jess goldberg knew she was painfully different from other girls.
Sometimes, when you read a book, it feels as if the author has been waiting decades to speak to you. The narrative follows the life of jess goldberg, who grows up in a working class area of upstate new york in the 1940s to 1950s. Free download or read online stone butch blues pdf epub book. After alyson books filed for bankruptcy, feinberg embarked on a protracted, expensive court battle to recover hir rights to the novel, eventually winning them in 2012. As a very young child, jess briefly experiences a nurturing environment in. Jun 23, 2018 sometimes, when you read a book, it feels as if the author has been waiting decades to speak to you. Assistant professor of english bridgitte barclay of aurora university recommends stone butch blues by leslie feinberg as a book you should read. Mar 30, 2018 stone butch blues, to me, is the greatest, most important queer novel in the world, because it does not only offer an insular experience of difference. Stone butch blues, leslie feinbergs 1993 first novel, is considered in. Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year. This summarystudy guide is a great companion to the novel and very helpful in keeping track of the various characters that come and go throughout the novel.
This study guide consists of approximately 64 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of stone butch blues. Stone butch blues is the story of someone different in a world where difference is not tolerated. Click to read more about stone butch blues by leslie feinberg. Stone butch blues is a powerful and moving novel that informs the reader about the penalties paid by those who transgress gender norms while demonstrating the freedom experienced by those who are true to themselves. She has unlocked her soul to anyone who reads and showed us the fears of being different no matter how slight it may be. Association stonewall book award and 1994 lambda literary award. The protagonist, jessie, tells a tale of lesbian life in the 1960s, where the lines between butch and femme were entirely clear. Stone butch blues is the queer great american novel it will be read, loved, studied, and denounced for a long, long time. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the authors best ideas. Her writing, notably stone butch blues and her pioneering nonfiction book, 1996s transgender warriors, laid the groundwork for much of the terminology and awareness. This book is an important chronicle of herstory for the gaylesbianbitg community. It also catalogues the historical changes in the womens movement and gay and lesbian liberation. Leslie feinberg, quote from stone butch blues i put on lipstick and high heels and walk down the street arm in arm with you, jess. Leslie feinbergs stone butch blues is a great novel.
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