Jewelle Gomez (born September 11, 1948) is an American author, poet, critic and playwright. She lived in New York City for 22 years, working in public television, theater, as well as philanthropy, before relocating to the West Coast. Her writing—fiction, poetry, essays and cultural criticism—has appeared in a wide variety of outlets, both feminist and mainstream. Her work centers on women's experiences,
particularly those of
LGBTQ
' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity.
The LGBT term is ...
women of color.
She has been interviewed for several documentaries focused on LGBT rights and culture.
Background
Jewelle Gomez was born on September 11, 1948, in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
,
, to Dolores Minor LeClaire, a nurse, and John Gomez, a bartender. Gomez was raised by her great-grandmother, Grace, who was born on
Indian
Indian or Indians may refer to:
Peoples South Asia
* Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor
** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country
* South Asia ...
land in
Iowa
Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...
to an
African-American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
mother and
Ioway
The Iowa, also known as Ioway, and the Bah-Kho-Je or Báxoje (English: grey snow; Chiwere: Báxoje ich'é) are a Native American Siouan people. Today, they are enrolled in either of two federally recognized tribes, the Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma an ...
father.
Grace returned to
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
before she was 14, when her father died, and she was married to John E. Morandus, a
Wampanoag
The Wampanoag , also rendered Wôpanâak, are an Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands based in southeastern Massachusetts and historically parts of eastern Rhode Island,Salwen, "Indians of Southern New England and Long Island," p. 17 ...
and descendant of
Massasoit
Massasoit Sachem () or Ousamequin (c. 15811661)"Native People" (page), "Massasoit (Ousamequin) Sachem" (section),''MayflowerFamilies.com'', web pag was the sachem or leader of the Wampanoag confederacy. ''Massasoit'' means ''Great Sachem''.
Mas ...
, the
sachem
Sachems and sagamores are paramount chiefs among the Algonquians or other Native American tribes of northeastern North America, including the Iroquois. The two words are anglicizations of cognate terms (c. 1622) from different Eastern Al ...
for whom Massachusetts was named.
Growing up in the 1950s and 1960s Gomez was shaped socially and politically by the close family ties with her great-grandmother, Grace, and grandmother Lydia. Their history of independence as well as marginalization in an African-American community are referenced throughout her work. "Grace A." from the collection ''Don't Explain'' is an early example.
During her high school and college years Gomez was involved with Black political and social movements which is reflected in much of her writing. Subsequent years in New York City she spent in Black theater including work wit
the Frank Silvera Writers Workshopand many years as a stage manager for
off-Broadway
An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...
productions.
During this time she became involved in
lesbian feminist
Lesbian feminism is a cultural movement and critical perspective that encourages women to focus their efforts, attentions, relationships, and activities towards their fellow women rather than men, and often advocates lesbianism as the logic ...
activism and magazine publication. She was a member of ''
Conditions'', a lesbian feminist literary magazine. More of her recent writing has begun to reflect her
Native American (
Ioway
The Iowa, also known as Ioway, and the Bah-Kho-Je or Báxoje (English: grey snow; Chiwere: Báxoje ich'é) are a Native American Siouan people. Today, they are enrolled in either of two federally recognized tribes, the Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma an ...
,
Wampanoag
The Wampanoag , also rendered Wôpanâak, are an Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands based in southeastern Massachusetts and historically parts of eastern Rhode Island,Salwen, "Indians of Southern New England and Long Island," p. 17 ...
) heritage.
Writing
Describing herself as a possible "foremother of
Afrofuturism
Afrofuturism is a cultural aesthetic, and philosophy of science and history that explores the intersection of the African diaspora culture with science and technology. It addresses themes and concerns of the African diaspora through technocu ...
," Gomez is the author of seven books, including the double
Lambda Literary Award
Lambda Literary Awards, also known as the "Lammys", are awarded yearly by Lambda Literary to recognize the crucial role LGBTQ writers play in shaping the world. The Lammys celebrate the very best in LGBTQ literature.The awards were instituted i ...
-winning novel ''
The Gilda Stories
''The Gilda Stories'' is the 1991 debut novel of American author and activist Jewelle Gomez. Published in 1991, this speculative fiction vampire novel follows the experiences of a black lesbian heroine whose power and morality challenge assumptio ...
'' (
Firebrand Books
Firebrand Books is a publishing house established in 1984 by Nancy K. Bereano---a lesbian/feminist activist in Ithaca, NY. Karen Oosterhouse, publisher since 2003, describes Firebrand as "the independent publisher of record for feminist and les ...
, 1991) . This novel has been in print since 1991 and reframes traditional
vampire
A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mi ...
mythology by taking a
lesbian feminist
Lesbian feminism is a cultural movement and critical perspective that encourages women to focus their efforts, attentions, relationships, and activities towards their fellow women rather than men, and often advocates lesbianism as the logic ...
perspective; it is an adventure about an escaped slave who comes of age over two hundred years. According to scholar Elyce Rae Helford, "Each stage of Gilda's personal voyage is also a study of life as part of multiple communities, all at the margins of mainstream white middle-class America."
She also authored the theatrical adaptation of ''The Gilda Stories''. Entitled ''Bones and Ash,'' the play began touring in 1996 and was performed in 13 U.S. cities by the Urban Bush Women Company.
The 25th-anniversary edition of ''The Gilda Stories'' includes a new foreword written by Gomez as well as an afterword written by
Alexis Pauline Gumbs
Alexis Pauline Gumbs is an American writer, independent scholar, poet, activist and educator based in Durham, North Carolina.
Biography
Gumbs holds a PhD in English, African and African-American Studies, and Women and Gender Studies from Duke U ...
.
Her other books include ''Don't Explain'', a collection of short fiction; ''43 Septembers'', a collection of personal/political essays; and ''Oral Tradition: Selected Poems Old and New''. Each of these collections feature Gomez' episodic approach, which John Howard has argued is a means of demonstrating the "linkages between current-day freedom struggles and the social/ political movements of prior generations."
Her fiction and poetry is included in more than a hundred anthologies, including the first anthology of Black speculative fiction, ''
Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora'' (2000) edited by Sheree R. Thomas; ''
Home Girls: A Black Feminist Anthology'' from
Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press, ''
Daughters of Africa
''Daughters of Africa: An International Anthology of Words and Writings by Women of African Descent from the Ancient Egyptian to the Present'' is a compilation of orature and literature by more than 200 women from Africa and the African diaspora, ...
'' edited by
Margaret Busby
Margaret Yvonne Busby, , Hon. FRSL (born 1944), also known as Nana Akua Ackon, is a Ghanaian-born publisher, editor, writer and broadcaster, resident in the UK. She was Britain's youngest and first black female book publisherJazzmine Breary"Let' ...
(1992), and ''Best American Poetry of 2001'', edited by
Robert Hass
Robert L. Hass (born March 1, 1941) is an American poet. He served as Poet Laureate of the United States from 1995 to 1997. He won the 2007 National Book Award and shared the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for the collection ''Time and Materials: Poems 1997 ...
.
Gomez has written literary and film criticism for numerous publications including ''
The Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...
'', the ''
San Francisco Chronicle
The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...
'', ''
Ms.
Ms. (American English) or Ms (British English; normally , but also , or when unstressed)''Oxford English Dictionary'' online, Ms, ''n.2''. Etymology: "An orthographic and phonetic blend of Mrs ''n.1'' and miss ''n.2'' Compare mizz ''n.'' The pr ...
'' and ''
The Black Scholar
''The Black Scholar'' (''TBS''), the third-oldest journal of Black culture and political thought in the United States, was founded in 1969 near San Francisco, California, by Robert Chrisman, Nathan Hare, and Allan Ross. It is arguably the most in ...
''. She particularly praises ''The Village Voice'' for helping her to develop as a writer.
Over the past 25 years she has been frequently interviewed in periodicals and journals, including a September 1993 ''
Advocate
An advocate is a professional in the field of law. Different countries' legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. However, ...
'' article where writer Victoria Brownworth discussed her writing origins and political interests. In the ''
Journal of Lesbian Studies
''Journal of Lesbian Studies'' is a peer-reviewed interdisciplinary academic journal published by Taylor & Francis. It examines the cultural, historical, and interpersonal impact of the lesbian experience on society. The journal is a forum for rese ...
'' (Vol. 5, No. 3) she was interviewed for a special issue entitled "Funding Lesbian Activism." This interview linked her career in philanthropy with her political roots. She was also interviewed for the 1999 film
After Stonewall
''After Stonewall'' is a 1999 documentary film about the 30 years of gay rights activism since the 1969 Stonewall riots directed by John Scagliotti. It is the sequel to the Scagliotti-produced 1984 film ''Before Stonewall'' and is narrated by musi ...
.
Gomez has also written a comic novel, ''Televised'', recounting the lives of survivors of the
Black Nationalist
Black nationalism is a type of racial nationalism or pan-nationalism which espouses the belief that black people are a race, and which seeks to develop and maintain a black racial and national identity. Black nationalist activism revolves aro ...
movement, which was excerpted in the 2002 anthology ''Gumbo'', edited by
Marita Golden
Marita Golden (born April 28, 1950) is an American novelist, nonfiction writer, professor, and co-founder of the Hurston/Wright Foundation, a national organization that serves as a resource center for African-American writers.
Background and caree ...
and
E. Lynn Harris.
She authored a play about
James Baldwin
James Arthur Baldwin (August 2, 1924 – December 1, 1987) was an American writer. He garnered acclaim across various media, including essays, novels, plays, and poems. His first novel, '' Go Tell It on the Mountain'', was published in 1953; de ...
, ''Waiting For Giovanni'', in 2010 in collaboration with
Harry Waters Jr.
Harry Tunney Waters Jr. (born April 13, 1953) is an American actor, singer and theatre director, best known for his portrayal of Marvin Berry in ''Back to the Future'' (1985). His renditions of " Night Train" and "Earth Angel" are two of the te ...
, an actor and professor in the theatre department at MacAlester College. Readings have been held in San Francisco at Intersection for the Arts at a seminar on Baldwin at Carleton College in Northfield, Minn., at the Yellow Springs Writers Workshop in Ohio, AfroSolo Festival and the 2009
National Black Theatre Festival
The National Black Theatre Festival (NBTF) was founded in 1989 by Larry Leon Hamlin in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Serving as its executive director, Hamlin’s goal in creating the Festival was "to unite black theatre companies in America to en ...
. Gomez and Waters were interviewed on the public radio program ''Fresh Fruit'' on
KFAI
KFAI (90.3 FM Minneapolis) is a community radio station in Minnesota. The station broadcasts a wide variety of music, and also airs programming catering to many of the diverse ethnic groups of the region. KFAI has frequently been honored by lo ...
by host Dixie Trechel in 2008. The segment also includes two short readings from the script. Gomez wrote the play ''Leaving the Blues'' in 2017 about singer
Alberta Hunter which premiered in 2017 at San Francisco's New Conservatory Theatre Center.
Both ''Waiting for Giovanni'' and ''Leaving the Blues'' have been produced by TOSOS Theatre Company in New York City. ''Leaving the Blues'' received a 2020 Audelco Award nomination for Best Play and won awards for Lead Actress in a Play (Rosalind Brown) and Featured Actor in a Play (Benjamin Mapp).
Gomez contributed to
Radical Hope: Letters of Love and Dissent in Dangerous Times', edited by
Carolina De Robertis and published by Vintage Books in 2017. In ''Radical Hope'', her letter, "Not a Moment but a Movement," is a tribute to her maternal great-grandmother, whom she calls "Grace A." In May 2017, Gomez, along with other contributors, read her work at the book launch party for ''Radical Hope'' at Laurel Bookstore in Oakland.
New writing for Gomez includes
Unpacking in Ptown'', the third play in the trilogy "Words and Music." It is set to premiere at
New Conservatory Theatre Center
The New Conservatory Theatre Center is a not-for-profit theatre company located in San Francisco, California. NCTC showcases an eight-show Pride Season, an In-Concert/Cabaret Series, Family Theatre performances, ''YouthAware'' Touring Educational ...
in San Francisco in the Fall of 2021.
Activism
Gomez' activism on behalf of LGBTQ rights is "grounded in the history of race and gender in America."
In "The Marches," an essay in ''Don't Explain,'' she writes, "
one of us should feel we can leave someone behind in the struggle for liberation."
Gomez was on the original staff of ''
Say Brother'' (now ''
Basic Black''), one of the first weekly Black television shows (
WGBH-TV
WGBH-TV (channel 2), branded on-air as GBH or GBH 2 since 2020, is the primary PBS member television station in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is the flagship property of the WGBH Educational Foundation, which also owns Boston's sec ...
Boston, 1968), and was on the founding board of the
Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation
GLAAD (), an acronym of Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, is an American non-governmental media monitoring organization originally founded as a protest against defamatory coverage of gay and lesbian demographics and their portrayals ...
(GLAAD) in 1984.
She also served on the early boards of the
Astraea Lesbian Foundation and the
Open Meadows Foundation, both devoted to funding women's organizations and activities. She's been a member of the board of the
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
Human Sexuality Archives and the advisory board of the
James Hormel
James Catherwood Hormel (January 1, 1933 – August 13, 2021) was an American philanthropist, LGBT activist, diplomat, and heir to the Hormel meatpacking fortune. He served as the United States Ambassador to Luxembourg from 1999 to 2001, and was ...
LGBT Center of the main
San Francisco Public Library
The San Francisco Public Library is the public library system of the city and county of San Francisco. The Main Library is located at Civic Center, at 100 Larkin Street. The library system has won several awards, such as ''Library Journals L ...
. She was a member of the loose-knit philanthropic collective founded in San Francisco in 1998 called 100 Lesbians and Our Friends. The group, co-founded by
Andrea Gillespie
Andrea is a given name which is common worldwide for both males and females, cognate to Andreas, Andrey, Andrej and Andrew.
Origin of the name
The name derives from the Greek language, Greek word ἀνήρ (''anēr''), genitive ἀνδρός ...
and
Diane Sabin, was designed to educate lesbians who were culturally miseducated—as women—about the use of money and benefits of
philanthropy
Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...
. The philosophy of making "stretch gifts" (not reducing contributions already being made) to lesbian groups and projects raised more than $200,000 in two years.
She was a commencement speaker at the
University of California Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant univ ...
's Women and Gender Studies Commencement, the University of California at Los Angeles Queer Commencement, and acted as a keynote speaker twice for
Gay Pride
LGBT pride (also known as gay pride or simply pride) is the promotion of the self-affirmation, dignity, equality, and increased visibility of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people as a social group. Pride, as opposed to sham ...
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
and as a host for Pride San Francisco.
She and her partner, Dr. Diane Sabin, were among the litigants against the state of California suing for the right to legal marriage. The case was brought to the courts by the City Attorney of San Francisco, the
National Center for Lesbian Rights
The National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) is a non-profit, public interest law firm in the United States that advocates for equitable public policies affecting the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community, provides free legal ...
(NCLR) and the
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...
(ACLU). Gomez has written extensively about
gay rights
Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality.
Notably, , 3 ...
since the 1980s, including articles on equal marriage in ''
Ms. Magazine
''Ms.'' is an American feminist magazine co-founded in 1971 by journalist and social/political activist Gloria Steinem. It was the first national American feminist magazine. The original editors were Letty Cottin Pogrebin, Mary Thom, Patricia Ca ...
'' and has been quoted extensively during the court case. In May 2008 the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the litigants, allowing marriage between
same-sex couple
A same-sex relationship is a romantic or sexual relationship between people of the same sex. ''Same-sex marriage'' refers to the institutionalized recognition of such relationships in the form of a marriage; civil unions may exist in countries ...
s in the state of California. Such ceremonies may legally begin after 30 days, allowing municipalities to make administrative changes. Gomez and Sabin were among 18,000 couples married in California before (
Proposition 8
Proposition 8, known informally as Prop 8, was a California ballot proposition and a state constitutional amendment intended to ban same-sex marriage; it passed in the November 2008 California state elections and was later overturned in cou ...
), which banned further same-sex marriages in California, was approved by the voters on November 4, 2008.
Professional
Formerly the executive director of the Poetry Center and American Poetry Archives at
San Francisco State University
San Francisco State University (commonly referred to as San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a public research university in San Francisco. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers 118 different b ...
, she has also had a long career in philanthropy. She was the director of Cultural Equity Grants at the
San Francisco Arts Commission
The San Francisco Arts Commission (SFAC) is the City agency that champions the arts as essential to daily life by investing in a vibrant arts community, enlivening the urban environment and shaping innovative cultural policy in San Francisco, Cali ...
and the director of the Literature Program for the New York State Council on the Arts.
She has presented lectures and taught at numerous institutions of higher learning including San Francisco State University,
Hunter College
Hunter College is a public university in New York City. It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools. It also admi ...
,
Rutgers University
Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...
,
New College of California
New College of California was a college founded in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1971 by former Gonzaga University President John Leary. It ceased operations in early 2008.
New College's main campus was housed in several buildings in the Mission ...
,
Grinnell College
Grinnell College is a private liberal arts college in Grinnell, Iowa, United States. It was founded in 1846 when a group of New England Congregationalists established the Trustees of Iowa College.
Grinnell has the fifth highest endowment-to-stu ...
,
San Diego City College
San Diego City College (City College or City) is a public community college in San Diego, California. It is part of the San Diego Community College District and the California Community College System. San Diego City College is accredited by t ...
,
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...
, and the
University of Washington
The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington.
Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...
(Seattle). She is the former director of the Literature Program at the New York State Council on the Arts and of Cultural Equity Grants at the San Francisco Arts Commission. She also served as executive director of the Poetry Center and American Poetry Archives at San Francisco State University.
She is currently employed as Director of Grants and Community Initiatives for
Horizons Foundation, the oldest lesbian,
gay
''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'.
While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...
,
bisexual
Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whi ...
and
transgender
A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...
foundation in the US. She formerly served as the President of the
San Francisco Public Library Commission.
San Francisco SFGov
Selected bibliography
*''The Gilda Stories: Expanded 25th Anniversary Edition'' (City Lights Publishers
City Lights is an independent bookstore-publisher combination in San Francisco, California, that specializes in world literature, the arts, and progressive politics. It also houses the nonprofit City Lights Foundation, which publishes selected ti ...
, 2016)
* ''Don't Explain: Short Fiction'' (Firebrand Books
Firebrand Books is a publishing house established in 1984 by Nancy K. Bereano---a lesbian/feminist activist in Ithaca, NY. Karen Oosterhouse, publisher since 2003, describes Firebrand as "the independent publisher of record for feminist and les ...
, 1998)
* ''Swords of the Rainbow'' (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 ...
, 1996, edited with Eric Garber)
* ''Oral Tradition: Selected Poems Old and New'' (Firebrand Books, 1995)
* ''Forty-Three Septembers'' (Firebrand Books, 1993)
* ''The Gilda Stories: A Novel'' (Firebrand Books, 1991)
* ''Flamingos and Bears'' (Grace Publications, 1986)
* ''The Lipstick Papers'' (1980)
References
Further reading
*
External links
Personal website
* Elisa Rolle
''Live Journal'', September 11, 2014
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gomez, Jewelle
1948 births
20th-century American novelists
African-American women writers
African-American novelists
American women novelists
American writers of Native American descent
Native American poets
African-American feminists
American feminists
Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Fiction winners
Lesbian feminists
American lesbian writers
LGBT African Americans
LGBT Native Americans
LGBT people from Massachusetts
Living people
LGBT dramatists and playwrights
American LGBT novelists
Women science fiction and fantasy writers
20th-century American women writers
African-American poets
20th-century African-American women
20th-century African-American writers
21st-century African-American people
21st-century African-American women