My Lover Is a Woman: Contemporary Lesbian Love Poems Book

My lover is a woman

& when i hold her--

feel her warmth--

i feel good--feel safe

--Pat Parker

My Lover is a Woman is a stunning anthology that places lesbian poets at the forefront of the contemporary literary scene. These romantic, sensual, poignant, and humorous poems courageously describe lesbian experience in a way that pays tribute to the diverse and complex nature of women's sexuality. My Lover is a Woman is a collection that transforms the written word into a venue for erotic exploration, emotional affirmation, and ultimately, personal triumph.

Editor Lesléa Newman has collected the work of both well-known and emerging poets (some of them published here for the first time) to create an anthology of some of the finest writers of any gender or sexual orientation writing poetry today. The probing fierceness of Adrienne Rich's "Love Poem," the subtle longing in Joy Harjo's "Late Summer Leaving," the intense sexual rhythm and tension in Olga Broumas's "She Loves," and the entrancing lament of June Jordan's "A Poem for Haruko 10/29" are just a few examples of the rich talent displayed in this volume.

These poets have written daring confessions of love, sorrow, anger, and joy. Each poem is an elaborate confirmation of the resilience of the human spirit, and the ability to transform experience--including the struggle against the societal taboo of same-sex love--into brilliant poetry. My Lover is a Woman is a searingly honest account of the vast variety of lesbian love, written with the integrity and intelligence of women from many backgrounds and cultures.