Alta (poet)
American writer and publisher (1942–2024)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Alta Gerrey (May 22, 1942 – March 10, 2024) was a British-American poet, prose writer, and publisher,[3] best known as the founder of the feminist press Shameless Hussy Press and editor of the Shameless Hussy Review.[4] Her 1980 collection The Shameless Hussy won the American Book Award in 1981. She is featured in the feminist history film She's Beautiful When She's Angry.[5][6]
May 22, 1942
Alta | |
|---|---|
| Born | Alta Gerrey May 22, 1942 Reno, Nevada, U.S. |
| Died | March 10, 2024 (aged 81) Oakland, California, U.S. |
| Genre | Poetry |
| Spouse |
Danny Bosserman (divorced)Daniel Skarry (divorced) |
| Partner | 2[1] |
| Children | 2[2] |
Alta was also one of the early collective members of the influential Bay Area feminist newspaper PLEXUS, for which she wrote a monthly column on the importance of promoting women's writing and creativity.
Biography
Shameless Hussy Press
Alta started Shameless Hussy Press in 1969.[7] The first women-owned feminist press in California, it opened during the time of second-wave feminism. Alta used a printing press in her garage to publish books by authors such as Susan Griffin, Pat Parker, and Mitsuye Yamada.[8] Yamada later described Alta as an "energetic feminist poet" who promoted Yamada's first volume of poetry "at women’s conferences, women’s health centers, and lesbian bars."[9] The press published the first edition of For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide, When the Rainbow is Enuf by Ntozake Shange, and Mary Mackey's first novel, Immersion (1972).[2] They also published poetry by men: "Alta reasoned that since 6 percent of the books published in the U.S. were by women, 6 percent of the books she published should be by men."[8]
The press closed in 1989; its archive is held at University of California Santa Cruz.[10]
Poetry and prose
Her first volume of feminist poetry, Freedom's in Sight, was published in 1969,[11] and some of her poems were anthologized in such collections as From Feminism to Liberation (Philip G. Altbach and Edith S. Hoshino, eds, 1971).[12] Her 1980 collected works The Shameless Hussy (Crossing Press) won the American Book Award in 1981.[8][13]
Personal life
Alta was born in Reno, Nevada on May 22, 1942.[1][14] She started the Shameless Hussy Press with her second husband. She wrote a volume of "blatant lesbian poems", Letters to Women (1969).[8] After the press closed she started operating an art gallery in Berkeley, California.[15] She died of breast cancer on March 10, 2024, in Oakland, California.[1]
Works
Alta's works include:
- Freedom's in Sight. Aldebaran Review, 1969.
- Letters to Women. Shameless Hussy Press, 1970.
- poems & prose by alta. k.n.o.w., 1971.
- burn this & memorize yourself. Times Change, 1971.
- song of the wife, song of the mistress. Shameless Hussy Press, 1971.
- No Visible Means of Support. Shameless Hussy Press, 1971.
- True Story. Mama's Press, 1973.
- Momma. Times Change, 1974.
- i am not a practicing angel. Crossing Press, 1975.
- Pauline & the Mysterious Pervert. Wyrd Press, 1975.
- Theme & Variations. Aldeberan Review, 1975.
- The Shameless Hussy, 1980.
- Deluged with dudes: platonic & erotic love poems to men. Shameless Hussy Press, 1989.
- Traveling tales: flings I've flung in foreign parts. Acapella Communications, 1990.
Awards
- 1981 American Book Award