Aurora's Valerie Taylor: Celebrating Lesbian Pulp Fiction

Often dismissed as tawdry trash, lesbian pulp novels became a lifeline for isolated lesbians and queer women in the 1950-60s. Join us to learn about Aurora's own pulp fiction author, Valerie Taylor!

Join us for a conversation with Jen Dentel from Gerber/Hart, a LGBTQ+ Library & Archives in Chicago, about pulp novels and Aurora's own Valerie Taylor. Jen will discuss this "Golden Age" of Lesbian Pulp novels with particular emphasis on Valerie Taylor. Asking if pulp novels were "trash or treasure," Jen will explore tropes common in lesbian and queer pulp novels and show how Valerie Taylor distinguished herself within the genre for realistically portraying lesbian lives and inserting activist information within her novels. Born in Aurora in 1913, Taylor published her first novel in 1953. She became a prolific author of lesbian pulp, publishing 9 lesbian pulp novels between 1957 and 1977. Her first lesbian novel, Whisper Their Love, sold 2 million copies. In addition to her work as an author, Taylor was an activist and poet, and her work is reflected within her novels.

Jen Dentel (she/her) is the Community Outreach & Strategic Partnerships manager at Gerber/Hart Library & Archives where she has volunteered since 2014. In this role Jen manages Gerber/Hart’s community programming, social media, and communications. Jen received her BA in History from the University of Chicago and her MSLIS from UIUC. Jen’s independent research on Chicago pulp author and activist Valerie Taylor was published in Queer Between the Covers from University of London Press. Jen is a co-creator of Gerber/Hart's podcast Unboxing Queer History. She has co-curated several exhibits at Gerber/Hart, including exhibits on pre-Stonewall activism, the history of drag, and lesbians and feminism in the 1970s and 80s.

Gerber/Hart is a LGBTQ+ library and archives located in the Rogers Park neighborhood in Chicago. Founded in 1981, Gerber/Hart is one of the largest repositories of LGBTQ+ content in the world. Gerber/Hart is a 501(c)3 non-profit and focuses on collecting, preserving, and making accessible the LGBTQ history and culture of Chicago and the Midwest.

This event is presented in partnership with the City of Aurora LGBTQ Advisory Board.

Join us in person in Room 125/126 at Santori Library or virtually via Zoom here. Passcode for the Zoom event: Valerie

If you choose to participate via Zoom, please read the following disclaimer: 

I acknowledge my participation (or my child’s participation) in this virtual program includes the recording of this program which may include my name as listed on my account, images and/or video footage. I grant the Aurora Public Library District my permission to use the photographs and/or video footage for any legal use, including but not limited to: publicity, copyright purposes, illustration, advertising, and web content.  
 
Furthermore, I understand that no royalty, fee or other compensation shall become payable to me by reason of such use. 

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