Reclaiming The Heartland: Lesbian and Gay Voices from the Midwest - Tapa dura

This collection by writers and artists who have lived in the midwest presents a wide range of fiction, poetry, memoir, essays, and photography, adding a vital point of view to the canon of lesbian and gay literature. It seems obvious, and yet isn't, that not only are there lesbians and gay men living in the midwest, but the midwest offers a dynamic, if different, locus of lesbian and gay life. All too often, the discussion focuses on cities on the east and west coast - New York, Miami, Los Angeles, San Francisco. Through their selection of works to be included in this volume, Osborne and Spurlin challenge the common portrayal of the midwest as repressive and backward, pointing out the danger inherent in defining lesbian and gay identity and community too narrowly. This book explores the complexity of queer identity and demonstrates that beyond signifying a geographic space, the midwest is also a perspective, a way of positioning oneself in the world.

This important and diverse new collection by writers and artists who have lived in the Midwest presents a wide range of fiction, poetry, memoir, essays, and photography, adding a vital point of view to the cannon of lesbian and gay literature.