Jean Taylor - Author

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JEAN TAYLOR - Radical Lesbian Feminist Writer and Activist

Born in Melbourne Australia in 1944, Jean Taylor was subsequently raised in country Victoria on a dried fruits vineyard in Mildura South. She was educated at state schools and left at the age of 16, started her General Nursing Training at the Mildura Base Hospital in 1961, became pregnant and moved to Melbourne the day after she got married in 1962.

Just a Gran Havin’ a Splendid Time

Posted in Non-Fiction

cover UP 3DAustralian Lesbian Grandmothers Anthology Edited by Jean Taylor

The idea for an Australian Lesbian Grandmothers Anthology was inspired by the fact that of all the topics that have been written about by, for and about Lesbians in Australia
there was not a book especially dedicated to the immense joys and the inevitable vagaries of being a Lesbian Grandmother.

This book, Just a Gran Havin’ a Splendid Time, covers a wide range of emotional responses and highlights the joy and life-changing experiences that inevitably occur for Lesbian Grandmothers from the time their first and subsequent grandchildren are born. 

We follow these lesbian grandmothers through the ups and downs of coming to terms with what it actually means to be a lesbian grandmother and note the changes in these unique relationships as the grandchildren get older. And finally appreciating that the grandchildren have grown up to be responsible people and how much having a lesbian grandmother in their lives has broadened their understanding and knowledge of the world
  around them in a positive way. 

These stories will also bring back memories of our own grandmothers, give us invaluable insights into what it means to be a Lesbian Grandmother in this day and age and will also  
serve as positive role models and demonstrate ways in which we can all nurture and care for the vulnerable children in our society that can only be of benefit to us all.   

Jean Taylor has written and published books with Dyke Books Inc, including The Archives Trilogy, and has also co-written and co-edited several anthologies: the Women’s Circus book, Leaping Off the Edge, Spinifex Press 1997, and the Long Breast Press anthologies: Willing Up and Keeling Over (2007), Lesbians Write On (2013), On F
or Young and Old
(2017) and Walking to the Edge (2019). She says that taking responsibility for this book and bringing this Australian Lesbian Grandmothers Anthology to fruition on a subject dear to her heart has been an absolute pleasure.

plantsx600Photo on front cover, Backyard Bloom, © copyright Jean Taylor 2023

ISBN 978 0 9923656 7 7 barcode

Dyke Books Inc is a not-for-profit, lesbian feminist publishing venture which was established in 2008 with the aim of publishing writing by, for and about lesbians.

Please note the cost includes postage of $10.
$30.00

The Book Launch of What Are Dykes Doing: Collected Non-Fiction,

Posted in Non-Fiction

The Book Launch of What Are Dykes Doing: Collected Non-Fiction, Jean Taylor, Dyke Books Inc, 1 December 2019
‘Best-laid schemes… gang aft a-gley’ (Burns) and never more so in Melbourne when events are planned outside on the verandah with rain predicted. And yet there’s was something about 21 lesbians and feminists all managing to fit into one small inside room to celebrate the launch of my latest book, What Are Dykes Doing?, that created an atmosphere of friendly, companionable intimacy and fun as we nibbled on biscuits, cheese, grapes and dips, made cups of tea in the kitchen and chatted and got to know each other.
When it was time, I acknowledged the Wurundjeri people, Ardy Tibby did a splendid job of actually launching the book with many kind words to say both about the writer as well as the book itself and how it touches on many of the lesbian and feminist issues and events from 1973 to 2006, and I finished off with thank yous and read a little of the How Hard Could It Be introduction. Afterwards, plates of pavlova were handed round and there was a queue for the chocolate ripple cake. Ardy sold books and I signed them, there were many more conversations and getting to know yous and it was after 5pm by the time the last guest left.
I want to thank everyone who contributed to the success of the launch by being there and buying books that afternoon despite the inclement weather and to thank those who emailed apologies and best wishes. The only thing left to say is: ‘All’s well that ends well.’ (Shakespeare) 

Jean Taylor

Wurundjeri country, Naarm

What Are Dykes Doing: Collected Non-Fiction

Posted in Non-Fiction

WhatDykes 55x85 cover

This is to let you know that the book Jean Taylor has been working on all year, What Are Dyke’s Doing? Collected Non-Fiction, has just been published by Dyke Books Inc and is now available for sale.
 

The book is a collection of all of Jean's non-fiction essays, articles, letters and reports over a period of over thirty years and gives some idea of the issues and campaigns radical lesbian feminists were involved in between the 1970s to the present day as we fought with our radical feminist and socialist feminist sisters in the Women’s Liberation Movement to overthrow the patriarchy and challenge capitalism.

Most of these short pieces were included in the well-known Victorian feminist and lesbian periodicals of the day: Melbourne Women’s Liberation Newsletter, 1972 - 1984, Lesbian Newsletter, 1976 - 1983, Lesbian News, 1983 - 1990, Lesbian Network, 1984 - 2006, Victorian Women’s Liberation Newsletter, 1986 - 1994, Labrys, 1990 - 1992, Lesbiana, 1992 - 2004, and Dykonoclast, 2005 - 2006. And also includes bits and pieces from Rabelais, Lilac, Women’s Circus Newsletter, Mother Earth, SAFE, Lesbians On the Loose, Melbourne Star Observer, Brother Sister, BNews, Melbourne Community Voice and Coalition of Activist Lesbians Newsletter. 

Just to give you a brief example of the kinds of articles that are included in the book the following is a brief extract from 1985: 

Lesbian Network 5 Spring Equinox September 1985 

Networking Along the Lesbian Way 

Just a few comments about this Lesbian Network that is being developed around Australia. Having just been travelling up the east coast, primarily to distribute books but also to write, have a holiday and make contact with other dykes along the way, I want to say how very impressed I’ve been by the generous hospitality and friendliness I’ve encountered. Without exception every lesbian I’ve met, every lesbian household I’ve stayed in has shown a warmth and closeness that has been remarkable and much appreciated. 

It was something, after a hard day of travelling, arriving in a strange town at sunset, to ring up and be greeted by a friendly voice, ‘come on out, you’re just in time for dinner, of course you can stay here,’ or variations along this same general theme. There have been gaps along the way of course, we haven’t quite managed to get lesbian contacts every couple of hundred miles or so, in which case I just found a quiet spot to camp in the van for the night. And looked forward to the next major town, where I could find familiar conversation and laughter.

The book also puts paid to the erroneous idea that lesbian feminist culture is no longer presenting a viable political and social alternative to the patriarchal status quo. For decades, we have fought hard for the rights of womyn and girls in a misogynistic and sexist society and stood in solidarity with the Indigenous communities for Land Rights and Sovereignty, and continue to do so.
 
The cost indicated includes postage.
$45.00