Lesbian Pulp Fiction. Katherine V. Forrest

       ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

      The James C. Hormel Gay and Lesbian Center in the beautiful main branch of the San Francisco Public Library is a national treasure, and a must destination for gay and lesbian visitors to San Francisco. My profound thanks to Jim Van Buskirk, Program Manager of the Hormel Center, for his invaluable assistance, advice, and encouragement, and to the staff of the San Francisco History and Special Collections Department for their kindness, patience, exemplary cooperation, and good humor during my many visits to their sixth floor domain.

      To my partner Jo, who has shared so many adventures with me, especially this one.

      To the pioneers I was privileged to consult with personally and to come to know during the process of putting this collection together: Julie Ellis (Joan Ellis) and Sally Singer (March Hastings).

      To the pioneer I have had the great joy of knowing and calling my friend over the past two decades, Ann Bannon.

      To the wonderful women of Cleis Press, Frédérique Delacoste and Felice Newman, pioneers in their own right. When they invited me on this journey I never dreamed it would be so emotion-laden a rediscovery and reinterpretation of my own past.

      To the researchers whose diligent and loving work made my path so much smoother, many of whom are mentioned in the bibliography. I must single out these three: Jeannette Foster for her vital Sex Variant Women in Literature (Vantage Press, 1956), Jane Rule for Lesbian Images (Doubleday, 1975) and Barbara Grier for her truly indispensable The Lesbian in Literature (Naiad Press, 1981).

      To the contributors to this collection: thank you on behalf of myself and the thousands of women whose lives you helped, for coming into our lives with your words when we most needed you.