World Literary Awards

← Back to Home

Jewelle Lydia Gomez

ジュエル・ゴメス（ジュエル・リディア・ゴメス）

Juweru Gomesu

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1948-09-11 （Boston, Massachusetts, United States）
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Residence History
Boston (childhood and youth) → Washington, D.C. (briefly) → New York City (about 22 years) → San Francisco / California (after relocating to the West Coast)

Career

Occupations
author, poet, playwright, critic, philanthropy director
Active Years
1968-
Affiliations
San Francisco State University (former Director, Poetry Center and American Poetry Archives), New York State Council on the Arts (former Director, Literature Program), San Francisco Arts Commission (former Director, Cultural Equity Grants), Horizons Foundation (former Director of Grants and Community Initiatives), GLAAD (served on founding board), Cornell University Human Sexuality Archives (board/endowment involvement)
Influenced By
James Baldwin
Influenced
Alexis Pauline Gumbs and later writers influenced by Gomez's work

Education

Northeastern University
Sociology (minor: Theatre)
Degree: B.A.
Period: 1967-1971
Year of Graduation: 1971
Country: United States
Attended on a Ford Foundation grant; active in student civil rights movements
Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
Journalism
Period: 1970年代（在籍／修了年不確定）
Country: United States
Exact years/degree completion unclear in available sources

Awards

Lambda Literary Award (multiple)
Work: The Gilda Stories
Organization: Lambda Literary
Result: 受賞
Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement
Organization: Horror Writers Association
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Lipstick Papers

1980 essay/criticism

An early collection of essays and short pieces showing Gomez's emerging voice and political perspective.

feminismrace and identity

Flamingos and Bears

1986 prose/short fiction

A collection of short fiction and prose combining personal and political perspectives with episodic structure.

communityfamily history

The Gilda Stories

1991 novel (vampire fiction / speculative / lesbian feminist)

Tells the story of an escaped slave who comes of age across two centuries, reframing vampire mythology from a lesbian feminist perspective; explores community and generational linkages.

feminismBlack women's experiencescommunity and legacyidentity across time
Adaptations
  • [theatrical play] Bones and Ash / Urban Bush Women (production company) / 演出者名不詳 (1996)

Forty-Three Septembers

1993 essays (personal/political)

A collection of essays blending personal memory and political reflection on family history, activism, and feminism.

memorypolitics and the personalfamily lineage

Oral Tradition: Selected Poems Old and New

1995 poetry

A poetry collection of old and new work emphasizing oral tradition and historical continuity.

oral traditionhistory and legacy

Don't Explain: Short Fiction

1998 short fiction

A collection of short fiction using an episodic approach; many stories rooted in family and community.

familycommunityrace and gender

Swords of the Rainbow (editor, with Eric Garber)

1996 anthology (editor)

An edited anthology collecting diverse voices; Gomez served as co-editor.

diversitycommunity

The Gilda Stories: Expanded 25th Anniversary Edition

2016 novel (expanded edition)

25th anniversary expanded edition including a new foreword by Gomez and an afterword by Alexis Pauline Gumbs.

feminismhistorylegacy

Bibliography

  • The Lipstick Papers (1980)
  • Flamingos and Bears (1986)
  • The Gilda Stories: A Novel (1991)
  • Forty-Three Septembers (1993)
  • Oral Tradition: Selected Poems Old and New (1995)
  • Swords of the Rainbow (editor, 1996)
  • Don't Explain: Short Fiction (1998)
  • The Gilda Stories: Expanded 25th Anniversary Edition (2016)

Adaptations

  • Bones and Ash (theatrical adaptation of The Gilda Stories, 1996)
  • Waiting for Giovanni (play about James Baldwin; readings and productions)
  • Leaving the Blues (play about singer Alberta Hunter; produced)
  • Unpacking in Ptown (third in the 'Words and Music' trilogy; premiered 2024)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
episodic/fragmented structurefeminist and community-centered perspectiveoral-tradition-influenced narration
Recurring Motifs
family and ancestrycommunity solidarityBlack women's experiencestemporal/generational themes

Legacy

Jewelle Gomez is celebrated for reframing vampire fiction through a lesbian feminist lens in The Gilda Stories and, through poetry, plays, criticism, and philanthropic work, has had a substantial impact on LGBTQ+ and Black women's cultural legacies. Her public activism and documentary portrayals have influenced later writers and activists.

Academic Societies

  • Involvement with Cornell University Human Sexuality Archives
  • Involvement with San Francisco Public Library (James Hormel LGBT Center)

Archives

  • Cornell University Rare and Manuscript Collections (Guide to Jewelle Gomez interview and materials)
  • San Francisco Public Library LGBT/James Hormel Center (related holdings)

In Popular Culture

  • Documentary 'Jewelle: A Just Vision' (dir. Madeleine Lim, 2022)

Quotes

  • "No one of us should feel we can leave someone behind in the struggle for liberation."
    Source: Essay 'The Marches', in Don't Explain (short fiction collection) (1998)

Trivia

  • Lived and worked in New York City for about 22 years before relocating to the West Coast.
  • Served on the founding board of GLAAD in 1984.
  • Worked on the children's sketch comedy series The Electric Company early in her career.
  • Married Diane Sabin in 2008.
  • Her work has appeared in many anthologies, including Dark Matter.