Cherry Potts, Writer

Category: Lesbian

  • The Historical Birthday-Tea Party March 3rd

    Edith Lees Ellis, 1861-1916 socialist, feminist and writer, was the wife of Havelock Ellis, the sexologist. Her birthday is not recorded anywhere I can find it, so today is a random and arbitrary attribution. Edith was a member of the Fabian society and wrote regularly for The Freewoman. Havelock  characterised her relationships with women as…

  • The Historical Birthday-Tea Party March 2nd

    So it turns out I was mistaken about not having a birthday party booked for the 1st – my spreadsheet lied to me. So pretend Emilia was today, and Mercedes de Acosta March 1, 1893 – May 9, 1968 was yesterday – I’ll switch them round later when you aren’t looking. Mercedes  was a not…

  • The Historical Birthday-Tea Party 28th February

    Todays is another birth free day, so lets celebrate someone we missed in January; another cross-dresser: Charlotte Charke 13 January 1713 – 6 April 1760. Charlotte was the youngest daughter of Colley Cibber a celebrated actor. She grew up independent and took to the stage herself, frequently playing ‘britches’ parts (18th Century theatre was obsessed…

  • LGBT History month – LoSoCo

    LoSoCo is what I’ve always known as Lewisham College. I did a reading there on Thursday for LGBT History Month. Here are a couple of snippets. (Apologies for the background noise – it’s the air-conditioning.) Holiday Romance, in which Melanie goes on holiday with her mother and allows her imagination to run riot. Baby Pink/…

  • LGBTHM – Cafe of Good Hope

    This event was very cosy – last public reading for LGBT History Month, and local, and with friends. I think we pulled out all the stops. Sadly Rebecca Idris had been sent to the Ukraine by her employers (what had she done to deserve that?) so was not able to join us, so we each…

  • The Historical Birthday-Tea Party 26th February

    Let’s light the candles on the cake for Mary Taylor 1817-1893 Mary and her  sister, Martha, went to  school at Roe Head, Mirfield, where in 1831 Mary met Ellen Nussey and Charlotte Brontë and they became great friends. Mary and Charlotte both stayed in each others homes regularly. Charlotte used the Taylor family as the…

  • The Historical Birthday-Tea Party 23rd February

    Today we celebrate, a day late, Jane Bowles February 22, 1917 – May 4, 1973. Jane was a writer who apart from her husband Paul, (also gay) had relationships exclusively with women. On the whole, these were short-lived. Virgil Thomson said of her all her life Jane was promiscuous. She didn’t really care too much…

  • The Historical Birthday-Tea Party 22nd February

    Today’s birthday girl is Edna St. Vincent Millay (February 22, 1892 – October 19, 1950) also known as Nancy Boyd when writing prose, and who called herself ‘Vincent’. Vincent was an American poet and playwright in 1923 she became the third woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for poetry, her first poems were published when…

  • The Historical Birthday-Tea Party February 21st

    I’m a day late, sorry, but here is the Birthday news for February 21st. Now: if I say Prison Reformer, the most likely image to come to your mind is Elizabeth Fry. Ms Fry was an excellent woman and to be admired, but put her to one side for a minute and consider (fanfare) Lilian…

  • The Historical Birthday-Tea Party 20th February

    Here we go: A Woman of Mystery…don’t know when her birthday was, don’t know who she is, beyond she wrote a book Either is Love which explores the life of a woman who first has a lesbian relationship and then a heterosexual one. Published in 1937. I have a vague recollection of having read this…