Sinister Wisdom

Sinister Wisdom began publishing in 1976 under initial editors Catherine Nicholson and Harriet Desmoines, and Sinister Wisdom continues to publish today with current editor Julie R. Enszer. This archive presents Sinister Wisdom from 1976 until 1990. While the journal originated in North Carolina, it moved to Massachusetts and Nebraska before finding its home in California.

Scholarly Writing about Sinister Wisdom

Enszer, Julie R. ""how to Stop Choking to Death": Rethinking Lesbian Separatism as a Vibrant Political Theory and Feminist Practice." Journal of Lesbian Studies 20, no. 2 (2016): 180-196.

Enszer, Julie R. "Night Heron Press and Lesbian Print Culture in North Carolina, 1976–1983." Southern Cultures 21, no. 2 (2015): 43-56.

Gambino, Elena. "Politics as ‘Sinister Wisdom’: Reparation and Responsibility in Lesbian Feminism." Contemporary Political Theory 20, no. 3 (2021): 524-546.

Holladay, Hilary. The Power of Adrienne Rich. New York, NY: Nan A. Talese, 2020.

Mims, La Shonda. Drastic Dykes and Accidental Activists: Queer Women in the Urban South. Chapel Hill, NC: UNC Press, 2022.

Stallings, L.H. Dirty South Manifesto. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2019.

Issues