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Paula Rabinowitz is professor of English at the University of Minnesota. She is author of Labor and Desire: Women's Revolutionary Fiction in Depression America and They Must Be Represented: The Politics of Documentary.

Værker af Paula Rabinowitz

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The Cambridge Companion to American Literature of the 1930s (2018) — Bidragyder — 3 eksemplarer

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American Pulp is a super resource for information on vintage paperbacks, with a solid chapter on lesbian pulp fiction. I originally put the book on hold at my local library in hopes of finding out more about Sloane Britain (real name: Elaine Williams.)

Unfortunately (though this is by no means the author's fault since no one seems to know much about the very talented pulp fiction writer whose style was elegant, sincere and deeply heartfelt) there is no mention of Williams or her pseudonym. Sloane Britain's These Curious Pleasures and 1st Person Third Sex are must reads for lesbian pulp fiction fans.

Apparently a very private person, Elaine Williams worked as an editor for Midwood Tower Books in the 1960s. Her pulp fiction sometimes had rare happy endings, but towards the end of her young life her tales took a sadder, darker turn. I mention this because I wish more was known about her and wonder why she isn't as well known as, say, Ann Bannon.

Paula Rabinowitz excels in her research. The bibliography and references to titles I'd never heard of before really impressed me, but (yikes!) also added much to my Kindle TBR list. For anyone with a passion for vintage paperbacks (not just lesbian pulp) this is your book! :)
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booksandcats4ever | 2 andre anmeldelser | Jul 30, 2018 |
The real pulp fiction

American Pulp: How Paperbacks Brought Modernism to Main Street by Paula Rabinowitz (Princeton University Press, $29.95)

Our fascination with pulp novels remains almost as strong as our love of the unique art that was on their covers, and, in American Pulp: How Paperbacks Brought Modernism to Main Street, University of Minnesota professor Paula Rabinowitz suggests that the real victors in the early days of paperback novels were the literary tastes of readers.

Full of intriguing information—Jorge Luis Borges’ first English-language publication was a story in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, for instance—and historical insights, American Pulp makes the case for paperbacks novels as providing cheap access to both classic and groundbreaking literature, thus expanding the literary scene and introducing generations of Americans to reading for enjoyment.

In addition to being a haven for genres like science fiction and mysteries, pulps also provided the first large marketplace for LGBTQ and black writers. The low cost and easy access on drugstore racks put these works into the hands of people who often didn’t have access to a library—or who were afraid of being seen checking out some kinds of material. It was a form that ran from Ann Bannon’s Beebo Brinker lesbian books (and Rabinowitz has a chapter on that) to James Joyce’s “banned in Boston” Ulysses.

She also devotes some attention to the production of Armed Services Editions, specially-printed to fit in uniform pockets for soldiers serving in WWII. The relationships that sprang up between writers and G.I. readers—who would writer letters to their favorite authors—were early indications of the power of interactivity for readers.

This fascinating history will have readers scouring used bookstores for the titles described.

Reviewed on Lit/Rant: www.litrant.tumblr.com
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KelMunger | 2 andre anmeldelser | Dec 22, 2014 |

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