Corky Culver - Southern Lesbian Feminist Activist Herstory Project

Celebrating the Anniversary of the Herstory Project

May and June 2024 are multiple anniversaries for the SLFA Herstory Project. It’s the fifteenth anniversary of our first Herstory Project planning workshop at Womonwrites. It’s the tenth anniversary of our first special issue of Sinister Wisdom. And it’s the second anniversary of the launching of this website.

We celebrated the publication of our sixth and final Sinister Wisdom volume two years ago. The six special volumes contain a treasure trove of collected stories, interviews, timelines, and photographs from three decades of twentieth-century, lesbian-feminist activism in Southern states. Now, we are focusing on making these edited interviews available online as we continue to add new interviews.

The herstory of lesbian-feminist activism in the South was rapidly being lost as these stories of unsung sheroes were not being reported in any of the memoirs and histories of the women’s liberation movement in the twentieth century.

Posted on May 5, 2024 Posted in Publishing, Publications, and Booksellers Tagged with 2019 last Womonwrites, 30th Womonwrites Anniversary 2009, Atlanta, Barbara Ester, Beth York, Carol Hanisch, class diversity, consciousness raising groups, Corky Culver, descendent of Womonwrites, Duke University archive, Durham NC, education diversity, first womens land community 1972, first Womonwrites 1979, Florida, Gainesville, Herstory Project 2009, Jaye McNeil, Jessica Lenn Chia, Kathy Sarachild, Knoxville Tennessee, Lennie Lassiter, lesbian activity, Lesbian Connection, Lesbian Home Movie Project, Lorraine Fontana, Mandy Carter, Merril Mushroom, Nashville, New York Radical Womens group, North Forty, old lesbians organizing for change, OLOC, Pagoda project, participant led, race consciousness, reading groups, Rose Norman, Sinister Wisdom, SLFA, Southeast, Southern dykes, Southern Festival, Southern Lesbian Feminist Activist Herstory Project, Southern Women’s Music and Comedy Festival, timeline of activism, twentieth century lesbian feminism activism in Southern states, University of Florida Oral History Program, WeMoon 1973, Womens Liberation Movement, Womonwrites, writing groups

Barbara Esrig: Writer, Oral Historian, Nurse, and Cook Extraordinaire

Barbara Esrig. Photo by Elizabeth Daneman and Tammy Bernard.

Barbara Esrig, a founding member of Southern Lesbian Feminist Activist Herstory Project, describes her work as a midwife, and her recovery from a near-fatal car accident.

Posted on September 11, 2023 Posted in Social Justice, Women’s Health, and Social Services, Spirituality and Religion Tagged with abortions, adoption, Alachua General Hospital, Amazon Opera, Amelia Earhart, Amelia’s, Ann Gill, artificial insemination, Arts in Medicine, Barbara Esrig, Carol Aubin, Cassadaga, Cheryl LaMay, childbirth, Clair Englander, Connie Jylanki, Corky Culver, Dotty Faibisy, Eloise Page, Eugene Oregon, Flash Silvermoon, Gail Atkins, Gainesville Florida, Gainesville Women’s Health Center, Gerry Green, Gwen Demeter, home birth, Jewish religion, Joan McTigue, La Leche, Lamaze, lay midwives, lesbian seders, lesbian variety show, Linda Wilson, Lynda Lou Simmons, Marcia Zeimer, Marilyn Mesh, Megan, midwifery, New York City, oral histories, Pam Smith, Practical nurse, Randi Cameon, registered nurse, RN, Ruth Segal, Sallie Ann Harrison, San Francisco, Sandy Cosgrave, Sandy Malone, segregated hospital, Shands Hospital, the Red House, turkey baster, Wild Iris, Womonwrites, writer in residence

Dore Rotundo: Architect and Land Dyke

Dore Rotundo

Dore Rotundo, an original, broke barriers in architecture, created community, loved women, and always found ways to spread joy.

Posted on April 17, 2023 Posted in Culture and the Arts, Lesbian Land Groups, Social and Political Groups Tagged with architectural Design, Architecture, Building skills, Community, Corky Culver, discrimination, Dore Rotundo, feminism, Florida, Found Art, Gainesville Florida, gay marriage, John O’Connell Technical High School, lake swan, LEAP, Lesbian Land, Lesbians Empowered for Activism and Politics, life estate, Long Beach Washington, Marcella Benson, Martha Strozier, North Forty, Pagoda, Pat Paul, Rose Norman, San Francisco California, Santa Fe Community College, Sherry Emory, Speedville, St. Augustine, St. Petersburg Florida, University of Florida, Utica New York

Lorelei Esser: Artist and Cultural Activist

Lorelei Esser with the artist statement from an exhibit of her work. It reads: I see my present work as a Display of the Sustainable Spirit. Creating form from energy that has been dormant, lost or fallen from an animal or tree, from the sea, washed up and breaking down, man-made materials left behind to rust, rot, or wear away, making its way, rock to grain, to the eternal. These things that we see as lifeless are in a constant state of change and gradual movement. I gather wood, stone, plastic, metal, glass, paper, rubber, peeled paint, any material that I can read into the story. I design by form and find, and I am amazed at what is revealed in the process, the energy has come together from the memory of what once was, a purpose, a sentimental journey, an attachment to us.

Lorelei Esser discusses her unconventional life, her art, and many fascinating adventures in other countries.

Posted on February 20, 2023 Posted in Culture and the Arts Tagged with Corky Culver, Dore Rotundo, Flash Silvermoon, Gainesville Florida, Kampho Femnique Frothingslosh KFF, Melrose Florida, Red House, Rose Norman, Women’s Renaissance Festival

Tag: Corky Culver

Celebrating the Anniversary of the Herstory Project

Barbara Esrig: Writer, Oral Historian, Nurse, and Cook Extraordinaire

Dore Rotundo: Architect and Land Dyke

Lorelei Esser: Artist and Cultural Activist