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niyad

(112,438 posts)
Wed Jan 7, 2015, 01:37 PM Jan 2015

21 Leaders 2015: 7 Who Transform Cultures: Julie R. Enszer: Michigan's Circulator of Lesbian Poetry

Julie R. Enszer: Michigan's Circulator of Lesbian Poetry

Julie R. EnszerJulie R. Enszer is, right now, a visiting assistant professor of women's studies at the University of Maryland, where she teaches courses on LGBT studies, women's studies and theories of feminism.



These subjects can be transformative for undergraduate students who happen across a course like this--as they once were for Enszer, when she was a women's studies major at the University of Michigan in the late 1980s. But Enszer's reach and impact into the world of lesbian and feminist activism spans far beyond the classroom. She is a poet and the creator of the Lesbian Poetry Archive, which undertakes the unique task of collecting and circulating lesbian poetry online.

She is also a scholar and blogger, writing on topics such as marriage for lesbians and gay men. "For lesbians, engagements with marriage are ongoing, providing opportunities to articulate and reimagine how we live and organize our intimate lives," she wrote in a 2013 article.

On top of that, she is the volunteer editor and publisher of Sinister Wisdom, a lesbian literary and art journal operating since 1976.

A Michigan native, Enszer came out in college and following graduation began working at a LGBT community center, Affirmations, in the Detroit area. People advised her against taking the job at Affirmations because they said she would be forever seen as a lesbian and unable to get a real job in the future.

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http://womensenews.org/story/21-leaders-the-21st-century/141220/21-leaders-2015-seven-who-transform-cultures

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