Lesbian Poetry

Historical Poetry

Contemporary Poetry

Resources for Poets and Readers

Lesbian Poetry FAQ

• Anthologies of Lesbian Poetry
• Anthologies that include lesbian and bisexual women poets

Titles are sorted by publication date.

• The Arc of Love: An Anthology of Lesbian Love Poems
  Edited by Clare Coss, 1996
  
  
• My Lover is a Woman
  Edited by Lesléa Newman, 1996
  
  
• The Zenith of Desire
  Edited by Gerry Gomez Pearlberg, 1996
  
  
• The Key to Everything
  Edited by Gerry Gomez Pearlberg, 1995
  
  
• The Poetry of Sex: Lesbians Write the Erotic
  Edited by Tee Corinne, 1992
  
  
• Wanting Women: An Anthology of Erotic Lesbian Poetry
  Edited by Jan Hardy, 1990
  
  
• Naming the Waves: Contemporary Lesbian Poetry
  Edited by Christian McEwen, 1989
  
  
• Gay & Lesbian Poetry in Our Time
  Edited by Joan Larkin & Carl Morse, 1989
  
  
• Lesbian Poetry
  Edited by Elly Bulkin and Joan Larkin, 1981
  (Out of print -- try used bookstores)

A Book of Women Poets from Antiquity to Now, edited by Aliki Barnstone and Willis Barnstone (New York: Shocken Books, 1980, 1992).

This anthology includes the work of 300 female poets from around the world. The editors include the work of many lesbian poets; check the index for familiar names.

The Penguin Book of Homosexual Verse, edited by Stephen Coote (London: Penguin Books, 1983, 1986).

This comprehensive collection includes the works of over 180 poets, from antiquity to present, writing on gay and lesbian topics. Many of the poets listed on these pages are included in Coote's collection. Highly recommended.

The Penguin Book of Women Poets, edited by Carol Cosman, Joan Keefe, and Kathleen Weaver (London: Penguin Books, 1978, 1979).

This collection does not include as many lesbian poets as Love Poems by Women, but it does include selections from the work of Aphra Behn, Emily Dickinson, H.D., Katherine Philips, Adrienne Rich, Sappho, Anne Sexton, and Gertrude Stein.

No More Masks! An Anthology of Twentieth Century American Women Poets edited by Florence Howe (New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1993).

A wonderful collection of women's poetry, this one focusing on twentieth century poets. I recognized the names of at least 15 lesbian and bisexual poets in the biographies.

Victorian Women Poets: An Anthology edited by Angela Leighton and Margaret Reynolds (Oxford: Blackwell, 1995)

Features the poetry of 50 female poets from the Victorian era, including extensive selections from Christina Rossetti, Michael Field, and Charlotte Mew. Biographies and critical essays introduce the works of each poet. A valuable collection of many poets whose work is now hard to find in print.

Love Poems by Women, edited by Wendy Mulford (New York: Ballantine Books, 1990).
This beautiful collection of woman-produced love poetry includes lesbian poetry along with heterosexually-oriented poetry, with no special distinction made between the two. Check the index of authors to find familiar names--you'll find many lesbian poets represented here.