Reti, Irene, 1961-

Agency History

HerBooks Feminist Press was founded in Santa Cruz, California in 1984 by Irene Reti, a poet and creative nonfiction writer. The emphasis of the press has been on publishing anthologies of creative writing, poetry, and other works by lesbians.

HerBooks is known for its groundbreaking collections, such as The Lesbian in Front of the Classroom: writings by Lesbian Teachers (1988) and Childless by Choice: A Feminist Anthology, both of which were the first anthologies published in the United States on these topics. Irene Reti's Remember the Fire: Lesbian Sadomasochism in a Post Nazi-Holocaust World (1986) and Unleashing Feminism: Critiquing Lesbian Sadomasochism in the Gay Nineties (1993) were outspoken critiques of s/m and pornography which put the press on the forefront of radical feminist inquiry.

HerBooks is also known for publishing innovative books about lesbian culture, such as Cats (and their Dykes) and Garden Variety Dykes: Lesbian Traditions in Gardening . Another strength of the press is Jewish feminism.

HerBooks published Bubbe Meisehs by Shayneh Maidelehs: an anthology of poetry by Jewish Granddaughters about our Grandmothers, A Transported Life: Memories of Kindertransport, the Oral History of Thea Feliks Eden, and The Keeper of Memory: A Memoir .

HerBooks also distributed the first anthology of Pacific/Asian Lesbian writing, Between the Lines (Dancing Bird Press, 1987). In 1994 HerBooks published The Second Coming of Joan of Arc and Other Plays by Carolyn Gage, a finalist for the Lambda Book Award.

From the guide to the HerBooks Feminist Press Archive, 1984-2002, (University of California, Santa Cruz. University Library. Special Collections)