Categories Literary, art Publisher Elana Dykewomon Website sinisterwisdom.org | Frequency Triannual First issue 1976 | |
Editor Julie R. Enszer
Merry Gangemi | ||
Sinister Wisdom is a multicultural, lesbian literary and art magazine by and for lesbians. It is the oldest surviving lesbian literary magazine. Its content is a mix of Spanish and English pieces. Sinister Wisdom is published quarterly in Berkeley, California and provides free subscriptions to incarcerated and institutionalized women as well as reduced-price subscriptions for lesbians with limited/fixed incomes.
Contents
History and mandate
Founded in 1976 by Harriet Ellenberger (Desmoines) and Catherine Nicholson in Charlotte, North Carolina, Sinister Wisdom was named after Joanna Russ' The Female Man. It features primarily lesbians' work, and is particularly interested in writing, art or photography that reflects diversity of experiences: lesbians of color, ethnic lesbians, Jewish, Arab, old, young, working-class, poverty class, disabled, and fat lesbians. Author and former editor of the magazine, Caryatis Cardea, referred to it as a work of "political honor…a commitment to acknowledge the power of language and the privilege of being published…the recognition of multiple struggles, and the accordance of mutual respect among a cultural diversity of lesbians."
In 2014, Sinister Wisdom received the Publishing Triangle's special Leadership Award, which recognizes contributions to LGBT literature by those who are not primarily writers.
Magazine and its Content
Sinister Wisdom has over 90 publications; four new publications are released every year and they are spread out throughout the four seasons (spring, summer, fall, and winter). The magazine publishes the work of influential Latina Lesbians like Cherríe Moraga and Carmelita Tropicana, provides information and interviews on Latina lesbians who contribute to the magazine's content (like tatiana de la tierra), and even includes the work of some of its readers.