Mercedes de Acosta

Mercedes de Acosta was an American poet, playwright, and novelist who wrote almost a dozen plays, only four of which were produced, and published a novel and three volumes of poetry.

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Ina Coolbrith

Ina Donna Coolbrith was an American poet, writer and librarian, prominent in the San Francisco Bay Area literary community. Called the “Sweet Singer of California”, she was the first California Poet Laureate, as well as the first poet laureate of any U.S. state.

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Pat Parker

Pat Parker was an American poet and activist who drew from her experiences as an African-American lesbian feminist. Her poetry spoke to her difficult childhood growing up in poverty, coping with sexual assault, and the murder of her sister.

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Sylvia Townsend Warner

Sylvia Townsend Warner was an English musicologist, novelist and poet, known for works such as the novels Lolly Willowes and After the Death of Don Juan, the poetry collection Whether a Dove or a Seagull and several short story collections.

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Renée Vivien

Renée Vivien was a British poet who wrote in French, in the style of the Symbolistes and the Parnassiens. A high-profile lesbian in the Paris of the Belle Époque, her work has received renewed attention following a revival of interest in Sapphic verse.

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A C Bilbrew

Known as Madame A. C. Bilbrew, A. C. Harris Bilbrew was an American poet, musician, composer, playwright, clubwoman, and radio personality who lived in South Los Angeles. In 1923, she became the first black soloist to sing on a Los Angeles radio program. In the early 1940s, she hosted the city’s first African-American radio music program, The Gold Hour. LA County Library’s Willowbrook branch is named in her honor.

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