Elsa Gidlow (29 December 1898 – 8 June 1986) was a British-born, Canadian-American poet, freelance journalist, philosopher and humanitarian. She is best known for writing ''On a Grey Thread'' (1923), the first volume of openly lesbian love poetry published in North America. In the 1950s, Gidlow helped found

Druid Heights Druid Heights was a counterculture enclave in Marin County, California, U.S. that lasted through most of the last half of the 20th century. Poet Elsa Gidlow purchased the property near the Muir Woods National Monument in 1954. She split the land ...

, a bohemian community in

Marin County, California Marin County ( ) is a County (United States), county located in the northwestern part of the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 262,231. Its county seat a ...

. She was the author of thirteen books and appeared as herself in the documentary film, '' Word Is Out: Stories of Some of Our Lives'' (1977).Holt, Patricia (22 June 1986). "Search for the Independent Mind". ''San Francisco Chronicle'', 1. Completed just before her death, her autobiography, ''Elsa, I Come with My Songs'' (1986), recounts her life story. It is the first complete-life, lesbian autobiography published where the author "outs" herself and does not employ a pseudonym.

Early life

Elsa Gidlow was born Elsie Alice Gidlow on 29 December 1898, at 9 Wells Terrace, Great Thornton Street,

Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * The hull of an armored fighting vehicle, housing the chassis * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a sea-going craft * Submarine hull Ma ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

, England. Her father, Samuel A. Gidlow, was a railway safety clerk from Nottingham, her mother, Alice May (née Reichardt) Gidlow, the daughter of a German immigrant tailor. By 1901, the family had moved to a new house, 183 Clumber Street. In 1904, Samuel Gidlow emigrated to Canada. Alice, young Elsie and her brother Samuel joined him the following year. They settled in

Tétreaultville Mercier () denotes the eastern portion of the Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve borough of the city of Montreal, Quebec. It consists of two neighbourhoods Mercier-Ouest (''Longue-Pointe'') and Mercier-Est (''Tétreaultville''). History Merci ...

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. Elsa had six siblings: Thea, Ivy, Stanley, Ruby, Eric, and Phyllis, whom she referred to as her "unfortunate family," because of their intimate association with mental illness. At the age of 15, Gidlow was first employed by her father on the Canadian Railway, and later by a contact of her father's in Montreal, a factory doctor, as assistant editor to ''Factory Facts,'' an in-house magazine.

Career

In 1917, she began seeking out fellow writers and meeting with them, particularly in the field of

amateur journalism Amateur journalism is a hobby for starting small newspapers established after the U.S. Civil War, using small and inexpensive printing presses. Local circulation and exchanges, sometimes among associations were done. Conventions were also held. T ...

, which was popular at the time. With collaborator Roswell George Mills, Gidlow published '' Les Mouches fantastiques'', the first magazine in North America where gay and lesbian issues were discussed, and the lifestyle celebrated. It was also adamantly anti-war, influenced by Mills and Gidlow's pacifist and anarchist viewpoints.

H. P. Lovecraft Howard Phillips Lovecraft (, ; August 20, 1890 – March 15, 1937) was an American writer of Weird fiction, weird, Science fiction, science, fantasy, and horror fiction. He is best known for his creation of the Cthulhu Mythos. Born in Provi ...

, a fellow amateur journalist, attacked their work, leading Gidlow to defend it and attack back in return; the dispute created a minor controversy but brought Gidlow and Mills public, albeit negative attention. Gidlow moved to New York in 1920 at the age of 21. There, among other jobs, she was employed by

Frank Harris Frank Harris (14 February 1856 – 26 August 1931) was an Irish-American editor, novelist, short story writer, journalist and publisher, who was friendly with many well-known figures of his day. Born in Ireland, he emigrated to the United State ...

of '' Pearson's'', a magazine supportive of poets and unsympathetic to the war and England.Elsa, I Come with My Songs: The Autobiography of Elsa Gidlow (San Francisco: Druid Heights Press, 1986, p.82. She became the poetry editor later becoming the associate editor. It was at this time she met a young

Kenneth Rexroth Kenneth Charles Marion Rexroth (December 22, 1905 – June 6, 1982) was an American poet, translator, and critical essayist. He is regarded as a central figure in the San Francisco Renaissance, and paved the groundwork for the movement. Althoug ...

who became known as the "father" of the

San Francisco Renaissance The term San Francisco Renaissance is used as a global designation for a range of poetic activity centered on San Francisco, which brought it to prominence as a hub of the American poetry avant-garde in the 1950s. However, others (e.g., Alan Watt ...

. In 1926, Elsa moved to San Francisco. Rexroth numbered her among his closest friends. With the exception of nearly a year spent in Europe, mostly in Paris, in 1928, she continued living in the San Francisco Bay Area for the rest of her life. In the 1940s, she lived in

Fairfax, California Fairfax is an List of cities in California, incorporated town in Marin County, California, Marin County, California, United States. Fairfax is located west-northwest of San Rafael, California, San Rafael, at an elevation of . The population w ...

, where in 1944 she became a home owner, active in local politics eventually becoming one of the planning commissioners. Due to her membership in political and writers' groups allegedly affiliated with communists, she was suspected of being "Un-American" and was subsequently investigated,

subpoenaed A subpoena (; also subpœna, supenna or subpena) or witness summons is a writ issued by a government agency, most often a court, to compel testimony by a witness or production of evidence under a penalty for failure. There are two common types of ...

and forced to testify in front of California's Un-American Activities Committee in 1947. The committee's final report accused her of being affiliated with

communist front A communist front (or a mass organization in communist parlance) is a political organization identified as a front organization, allied with or under the effective control of a communist party, the Communist International or other communist organ ...

organizations. However, as a

philosophical anarchist Philosophical anarchism is an anarchist school of thought which focuses on intellectual criticism of authority, especially political power, and the legitimacy of governments. The American anarchist and socialist Benjamin Tucker coined the term '' ...

Gidlow was ideologically opposed to communism, and she denied the accusation.''Sapphic Songs: Eighteen to Eighty'' (1982) Patricia Holt of the ''San Francisco Chronicle'' writes:

It amused Gidlow that such "radical" ideas set her up for a
witch hunt A witch hunt, or a witch purge, is a search for people who have been labeled witches or a search for evidence of witchcraft. Practicing evil spells or Incantation, incantations was proscribed and punishable in early human civilizations in the ...
in Fairfax, where she had moved in her 40s.
heir Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Offi ...
charges that Gidlow was a "red," as Stanton Delaplane reported in ''The Chronicle'', were "Washed Pink at Fairfax Hearings." But Gidlow, who lived with a woman of African descent and often made dinner for the Chans from San Francisco, was later accused of "living with a colored woman and frequently entertaining Chinese people...This was damning evidence that I could not be a loyal American."

Druid Heights

Perhaps seeking solitude, Gidlow left her first home, Madrona, and the garden she had so lovingly tended for 10 years there, and in 1954, purchased a ranch which she subsequently shared with Roger Somers and his family above

Muir Woods "Muir" is the Scots word for "moorland", and the Irish and Scots Gaelic for "sea", and is the etymological origin of the surname and Clan Muir/Mure/Moore in Scotland and other parts of the world. Places United States * Muir, Willits, Californi ...

on the southwest flank of

Mount Tamalpais Mount Tamalpais (; ; Miwok languages, Miwok: ''Támal Pájiṣ''), known locally as Mount Tam, is a mountain, peak in Marin County, California, Marin County, California, United States, often considered symbolic of Marin County. Much of Mount Tama ...

.Davis, Erik (May 2005).
Druids and Ferries
". ''Arthur''. 16. Gidlow named her portion of the mountain ranch, which included a secondary dwelling, "

", a nod to her friend, Irish poet

Ella Young Ella Young (26 December 1867 – 23 July 1956) was an Irish poet and Celtic mythologist active in the Gaelic and Celtic Revival literary movement of the late 19th and early 20th century. Born in Ireland, Young was an author of poetry and c ...

. Gidlow and her partner

Isabel Grenfell Quallo Isabel Grenfell Quallo (4 April 1893 – 21 September 1985) was a Congolese-born British-American domestic worker and community activist known for her involvement in the development of Druid Heights, in Marin County, California. Born in the Cong ...

(1896–1985) lived together for a short time at Druid Heights, but family commitments called Isabel away. Also living there at one time or another were notable residents including her close friend

Alan Watts Alan Wilson Watts (6 January 1915 – 16 November 1973) was a British and American writer, speaker, and self-styled "philosophical entertainer", known for interpreting and popularising Buddhist, Taoist, and Hinduism, Hindu philosophy for a Wes ...

, the poet

Gary Snyder Gary Snyder (born May 8, 1930) is an American poet, essayist, lecturer, and environmental activist. His early poetry has been associated with the Beat Generation and the San Francisco Renaissance and he has been described as the "poet laureate ...

, furniture maker Edward Stiles and freewheeling bohemian Roger Somers. Along with Watts and his soon to be wife Mary Jane Yates, Gidlow planned and then co-founded the Society for Comparative Philosophy here in 1962. This society financed many of the improvements to the property and brought many of the important visitors and "artists in residence" for whom Druid Heights is now known. Besides Alan Watts, notable residents who, through Elsa's largess, found cheap rent and a place to create or escape were David Wills, Catherine Mackinnon, Roger Somers, Sunyata,

John Blofeld John Eaton Calthorpe Blofeld (2 April 1913 – 7 June 1987) was a British writer on Asian thought and religion, especially Taoism and Chinese Buddhism. Early life Blofeld was born in London in 1913.Blofeld 2008, pg. 4 In his youth, he happened ...

, and many leaders of various women's rights efforts. The Society morphed into the Druid Heights Artist Retreat after her death whereupon she provided the funds to begin the nascent-albeit short-lived-organization, Druid Heights Artists Retreat; A Facebook group called "Save Druid Heights" has been formed where many today hope to return DHAR to her home at Druid Heights. Gidlow socialized with many famous artists, radical thinkers, mystics, and political activists, including

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie ( ; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improvisation, improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy El ...

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

, Margo St. James,

Allen Ginsberg Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with Lucien Carr, William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of th ...

James Broughton James Broughton (November 10, 1913 – May 17, 1999) was an American poet and poetic filmmaker. He was part of the San Francisco Renaissance, a precursor to the Beat poets. Broughton was an early bard of the Radical Faeries, as well as a member ...

, Baba

Ram Dass Ram Dass (born Richard Alpert; April 6, 1931 – December 22, 2019), also known as Baba Ram Dass, was an American spiritual teacher, guru of modern yoga, psychologist, and writer. His best-selling 1971 book '' Be Here Now'', which has been d ...

Lama Govinda Anagarika Govinda (born Ernst Lothar Hoffmann, 17 May 1898 – 14 January 1985) was the founder of the order of the Arya Maitreya Mandala and an expositor of Tibetan Buddhism, Abhidharma, and Buddhist meditation as well as other aspects of ...

, Robert Shapiro,

Maud Oakes Maud Van Cortlandt Oakes (1903–1990) was an ethnologist, artist and writer who published her research into the cultures of indigenous tribes in the Americas, including the Navajo of the American Southwest and the Mam of Guatemala. She is best kn ...

, Robert Duncan, Clarkson Crane,

Sara Bard Field Sara Bard Field (September 1, 1882 – June 15, 1974) was an American poet, suffragist, free love advocate, Georgist, and Christian socialist. She worked on successful campaigns for women's suffrage in Oregon and Nevada. Working with Alice Paul ...

, Edward Stiles, Roger Somers,

Catharine MacKinnon Catharine Alice MacKinnon (born October 7, 1946) is an American feminist legal scholar, activist, and author. She is the Elizabeth A. Long Professor of Law at the University of Michigan Law School, where she has been tenured since 1990, and the J ...

and

Maya Angelou Maya Angelou ( ; born Marguerite Annie Johnson; April 4, 1928 – May 28, 2014) was an American memoirist, poet, and civil rights activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and is credi ...

. Gidlow helped plan the funeral for her friend Alan Watts when he died there. The monks from nearby Green Gulch Monastery often came to visit and participated in a ceremony there upon Watts's death which included an Anglican Mass; they then buried half of his ashes near his library at Druid Heights, and brought the second half to Green Gulch Monastery in the nearby valley.

Autobiography

Gidlow's autobiography ''Elsa, I Come with My Songs: The Autobiography of Elsa Gidlow'', published in 1986, gives a personal and detailed account of seeking, finding and creating a life with other lesbians at a time when little was recorded on the topic; notably, it is the first lesbian autobiography written where the author does not use a pseudonym. It offers a superb account of one eyewitness-participant's view of twentieth-century artistic-bohemian life and of the cultural history of the San Francisco area. Gidlow also openly discussed her lifetime experience as a lesbian in the critically acclaimed 1977 documentary feature '' Word Is Out: Stories of Some of Our Lives'', which was released theatrically and which was broadcast on many

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

stations around the United States starting in 1978.

Death

The last few months of her life, Gidlow experienced several strokes. She chose not to seek medical care in a hospital and died at home in Druid Heights at the age of 87. Gidlow was cremated and her ashes were mixed with rice and buried beneath an apple tree in Druid Heights. Parts of Druid Heights have subsequently fallen into ruin, but Gidlow's home remained intact as recently as 2012.

Legacy

Gidlow's estate donated her extensive personal papers to the

GLBT Historical Society The GLBT Historical Society (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Historical Society) (formerly Gay and Lesbian Historical Society of Northern California; San Francisco Bay Area Gay and Lesbian Historical Society) maintains an extensive collection ...

in San Francisco in 1991. The collection consists of 16 boxes (13 linear feet) of correspondence, journals, literary manuscripts, legal records, photographs and other materials documenting Gidlow's life, work and relationships. The papers are organized into nine series: Correspondence, Subject Files, Manuscripts, Published Works, Journals and Yearbooks, Audio-Visual and Photographs, Ephemera, Oversize Materials, and Original Documents. The collection is fully processed and available to researchers.Guide to the Elsa Gidlow Papers, 1898–1986
(collection no. 91-16), GLBT Historical Society, San Francisco.

Selected works

* ''On a Grey Thread'' (1923) * ''California Valley with Girls'' (1932) * ''From Alba Hill'' (1933) * ''Wild Swan Singing'' (1954) * ''Letters from Limbo'' (1956) * ''Moods of Eros'' (1970) * ''Makings for Meditation: Parapoems Reverent and Irreverent'' (1973) * ''Wise Man's Gold'' (1974) * ''Ask No Man Pardon: The Philosophic Significance of Being Lesbian'' (1975) * ''Sapphic Songs: Seventeen to Seventy'' (1976) * ''Sapphic Songs: Eighteen to Eighty, the Love Poetry of Elsa Gidlow'' (1982) * ''Elsa, I Come with My Songs: The Autobiography of Elsa Gidlow'' (1986)

References

External links

* *
Guide to the Elsa Gidlow Papers, 1898–1986 (bulk dates 1920–1986)
in the archives of the

in San Francisco. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gidlow, Elsa 1898 births 1986 deaths 20th-century American poets 20th-century American women writers 20th-century Canadian LGBTQ people 20th-century Canadian poets 20th-century Canadian women writers Activists from California American lesbian writers American LGBTQ poets American women poets American women's rights activists British emigrants to Canada Canadian emigrants to the United States Canadian lesbian writers Canadian women poets Canadian LGBTQ poets English LGBTQ writers Lesbian feminists LGBTQ people from Yorkshire People from Fairfax, California Artists from Marin County, California People from Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve Writers from Kingston upon Hull Poets from Montreal Writers from the San Francisco Bay Area