Valerie Taylor Collection

Collection

Identifier: 1999-04

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Collection includes booklets largely of the poetry of Valerie Taylor, but also including some other writings and personal papers. The booklets were compiled by Tee A. Corine, the literary executor of her estate.

Dates

1913 - 1998
Majority of material found within 1926 - 1998

Creator

Taylor, Valerie, 1913-1997 (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

No donor restriction. Standard restrictions apply (see G/H “Confidentiality Agreement” for archives use).

Biographical / Historical

Valerie Taylor was born Velma Nacella Young in Aurora, Illinois on September 7, 1913. She was an author and poet. She is primarily known for writing mid-century lesbian pulp novels such as The Girls in 3-B, Return to Lesbos, Stranger on Lesbos, and Whisper Their Love. She also published work as Nacella Young, Francine Davenport, and Velma Tate.

Taylor was a co-founder of Mattachine Midwest in 1965 and edited its newsletter for several years. She also was a member of the Daughters of Bilitis and the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom in Chicago and the Gray Panthers after she relocated to Tucson, Arizona. She also co-founded the Lesbian Writers’ Conference in Chicago, and was interviewed by Studs Turkel in “Coming of Age.”

She died on October 22, 1997 in Tucson, Arizona.