When Megan Went Away
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When Megan Went Away
''When Megan Went Away'' is a 1979 children's picture book written by Jane Severance and illustrated by Tea Schook. It is the first picture book to include any LGBT characters, and specifically the first to feature lesbian characters, a distinction sometimes erroneously bestowed upon Lesléa Newman's '' Heather Has Two Mommies'' (1989). The book, published by the independent press Lollipop Power, depicts a child named Shannon dealing with the separation of her mother and her mother's partner, Megan. As a lesbian working in a feminist bookstore in Denver in her early twenties, Severance sought to rectify the lack of picture book content for children with lesbian parents. ''When Megan Went Away'' was not widely distributed upon publication, although the text of the story was republished by the magazine ''Ms.'' in 1986 under the pen name R. Minta Day. The work proved divisive among critics, some praising the story for being an anti-sexist example of lesbian life and others find ...
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Jane Severance
Jane Severance (born 1957) is an American author of children's literature and educator. She has published three books for young readers, including her first work, ''When Megan Went Away'' (1979), the first children's picture book to include LGBT characters. Severance grew up in Idaho before coming out as a lesbian and moving to Denver to study early childhood education. There, she became involved with the local lesbian feminist community. Her works, all of which include lesbian characters, deal with parental separation (''When Megan Went Away''), non-nuclear communal parenting (''Lots of Mommies'', 1983), and parental alcoholism (''Ghost Pains'', 1992). Scholars of children's literature have described Severance's works as unique and honest portrayals of lesbian life that differ in tone from the portrayals in many other picture books with LGBT characters. Early life Jane Severance was born in Moscow, Idaho, in 1957. Much of her extended family also lived in the state. Severance's fa ...
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Big Mama Rag
''Big Mama Rag'' was a radical feminist collective alternative newspaper published monthly from Denver, Colorado, between 1972 and 1984. History ''Big Mama Rag'' was developed by a collective of feminists that recognized issues with traditional media outlets. The newspaper published eleven issues per year. Vicki Piotter, Peg Rapp, and Kay Young opened Women to Women Feminist Book Center in Denver in 1974, where many of the young feminists collected. During this time, Piotter was involved with ''Big Mama Rag''. Other members included Chocolate Waters, Jackie St. Joan, Jane Severance, and Kathleen Riley. ''Big Mama Rag'' was part of the Liberation News Service. One of the original funders of the newspaper was Denver's Aton Foundation. Big Mama Rag requested additional funds from the Denver Sustaining Fund, but was rejected. The original collective were paid by an association of methodist women, but the grant eventually ran out. The original founders formed a "core group," which ...
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Children's Literature Association Quarterly
''Children's Literature Association Quarterly'' is a quarterly academic journal established in 1975 and an official publication of the Children's Literature Association. It is published by the Johns Hopkins University Press. The journal promotes a scholarly approach to the study of children's literature by printing theoretical articles and essays, as well as book reviews. The editor-in-chief is Katharine Capshaw Smith (University of Connecticut). See also *Children's literature criticism *Children's literature periodicals External links * {{Official website, http://www.press.jhu.edu/journals/childrens_literature_association_quarterly/ ''Children's Literature Association Quarterly'' at Project MUSE Project MUSE, a non-profit collaboration between libraries and publishers, is an online database of peer-reviewed academic journals and electronic books. Project MUSE contains digital humanities and social science content from over 250 university ... Children's literature critic ...
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Lots Of Mommies
''Lots of Mommies'' is a 1983 picture book written by Jane Severance and illustrated by Jan Jones. In the story, Emily is raised by four women. Other children at her school doubt that she has "lots of mommies" but when she is injured, her four parents rush to her aid and her schoolmates accept that she does indeed have "lots of mommies". The work was Severance's second to be published by Lollipop Power and her second picture book overall. ''Lots of Mommies'' has received praise in feminist news outlets since its publication and has attracted debate from children's literature scholars and others as to whether it should be considered a work of LGBTQ children's literature, absent explicit textual confirmation of Emily's mothers' relationships to one another. The work has also been noted for depicting a non-traditional family. Background and publication The first book by Jane Severance, a lesbian preschool teacher living in Denver, was ''When Megan Went Away'', published by the Chap ...
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Book Censorship In The United States
Book censorship is the removal, suppression, or restricted circulation of literary, artistic, or educational material – of images, ideas, and information – on the grounds that these are morally or otherwise objectionable according to the standards applied by the censor. Censorship is "the regulation of speech and other forms of expression by an entrenched authority".Miller, Cynthia J. "Censorship." ''Culture Wars in America: An Encyclopedia of Issues, Viewpoints, and Voices'', edited by Chapman, Roger and James Ciment, Routledge, 2013. The overall intent of censorship, in any form, is to act as "a kind of safeguard for society, typically to protect norms and values ..censorship suppresses what is considered objectionable from a political, moral, or religious standpoint." The Marshall University Libraries, which conduct research on banned books in the United States, have defined a banned book as one that has been "removed from a library, classroom, etc." and a challenged book ...
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Alyson Books
Alyson Books, formerly known as Alyson Publications, was a book publishing house which specialized in LGBT fiction and non-fiction. Former publisher Don Weise described it as "the world's oldest and largest publisher of LGBT literature" and "the home of award-winning books in the areas of memoir, history, humor, commercial fiction, mystery, and erotica, among many others".Weise 2009. History Founded in Boston in 1980 by Sasha Alyson, Alyson Publications began in 1990 to sell LGBT-themed children's books, entitled ''Alyson Wonderland''. It was acquired by Liberation Publications in 1995 and sold to Regent Entertainment Media, Inc. in 2008, and in November, as Alyson Books, named Don Weise its publisher. He has written of his commitment to Alyson's traditional areas of specialisation, but has stated that he is keen also to embrace "more serious nonfiction—particularly in the areas of current affairs, politics, self-help, and autobiography—as well as literary fiction and wo ...
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Paratext
In literary interpretation, paratext is material that surrounds a published main text (e.g., the story, non-fiction description, poems, etc.) supplied by the authors, editors, printers, and publishers. These added elements form a frame for the main text, and can change the reception of a text or its interpretation by the public. Paratext is most often associated with books, as they typically include a cover (with associated cover art), title, front matter (dedication, opening information, foreword), back matter (endpapers, colophon) footnotes, and many other materials not crafted by the author. Other editorial decisions can also fall into the category of paratext, such as the formatting or typography. Because of their close association with the text, it may seem that authors should be given the final say about paratextual materials, but often that is not the case. One example of controversy surrounding paratext is the case of the 2009 young adult novel '' Liar'', which was initial ...
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Gender Variance
Gender variance or gender nonconformity is behavior or gender expression by an individual that does not match masculine or feminine gender norms. A gender-nonconforming person may be variant in their gender identity, being transgender or non-binary, or they may be cisgender. In the case of transgender people, they may be perceived, or perceive themselves as, gender-nonconforming before transitioning, but might not be perceived as such after transitioning. Transgender adults who appear gender-nonconforming after transition are more likely to experience transphobic discrimination. Terminology People who exhibit gender variance may be called ''gender-variant'', ''gender-nonconforming'', ''gender-diverse,'' or ''gender-atypical''. The terms ''gender variance'' and ''gender-variant'' are used by scholars of psychology, psychiatry, anthropology, and gender studies, as well as advocacy groups of gender-variant people themselves. The term ''gender-variant'' is deliberately broad, encompa ...
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Gay Community News (Boston)
The ''Gay Community News'' was an American weekly newspaper published in Boston, Massachusetts, from 1973 to 1992 by The Bromfield Street Educational Foundation. Designed as a resource for the LGBT community, the newspaper reported a wide variety of gay and lesbian-related news. The newspaper's influence was such that it enjoyed a "national reach that was considered the movement's 'paper of record' throughout the '70s, and whose alumni at one point occupied so many leadership roles around the country that they were called the 'GCN mafia'"."How Boston powered the gay rights movement"
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Book Review
__NOTOC__ A book review is a form of literary criticism in which a book is merely described (summary review) or analyzed based on content, style, and merit. A book review may be a primary source, opinion piece, summary review or scholarly review. Books can be reviewed for printed periodicals, magazines and newspapers, as school work, or for book websites on the Internet. A book review's length may vary from a single paragraph to a substantial essay. Such a review may evaluate the book on the basis of personal taste. Reviewers may use the occasion of a book review for an extended essay that can be closely or loosely related to the subject of the book, or to promulgate their own ideas on the topic of a fiction or non-fiction work. Some journals are devoted to book reviews, and reviews are indexed in databases such as ''Book Review Index'' and ''Kirkus Reviews''; but many more book reviews can be found in newspaper and scholarly databases such as Arts and Humanities Citation Index ...
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Paperback
A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, and often held together with adhesive, glue rather than stitch (textile arts), stitches or Staple (fastener), staples. In contrast, hardcover (hardback) books are bound with cardboard covered with cloth, leather, paper, or plastic. Inexpensive books bound in paper have existed since at least the 19th century in such forms as pamphlets, yellow-backs, yellowbacks, dime novels, and airport novels. Modern paperbacks can be differentiated from one another by size. In the United States, there are "mass-market paperbacks" and larger, more durable "trade paperbacks". In the United Kingdom, there are A-format, B-format, and the largest C-format sizes. Paperback editions of books are issued when a publisher decides to release a book in a low-cost format. Lower-quality paper, glued (rather than stapled or sewn) bindings, and the lack of a hard cover may contribute to the lower cost of paperbacks. Paperb ...
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Megan
Megan is a Welsh feminine given name, originally a diminutive form of Margaret. Margaret is from the Greek μαργαρίτης (''margarítēs''), Latin ''margarīta'', "pearl". Megan is one of the most popular Welsh-language names for women in Wales and England, and is commonly truncated to Meg. Megan was one of the most popular feminine names in the English-speaking world in the 1990s, peaking in 1990 in the United States and 1999 in the United Kingdom. Approximately 54% of people named Megan born in the US were born in 1990 or later. Megan is also frequently spelled Meagan, Meaghan, or Meghan outside of Wales and the rest of the United Kingdom due to spelling influence from Irish-language names. People * Meagan Best (born 2002), Barbadian squash player * Megan Bonnell, Canadian musician * Meghan Boody (born 1964), American surrealist photographer * Megan Boone (born 1983), American actress * Megan Cunningham (born 1995), Scottish footballer * Megan Danso (born 1990), Cana ...
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