THE VFA PIONEER HISTORIES PROJECT
Dorothy Allison
April 11, 1949 – November 6, 2024
“It was like opening your eyes underwater. It hurt, but suddenly everything that had been dark and mysterious became visible and open to change.” – Dorothy Allison about the early feminist movement.
Author and activist. Attended Florida Presbyterian College on a National Merit scholarship. While there, joined the women’s movement by way of a feminist collective. Credited “militant feminists” for encouraging her decision to write. Editor of the feminist magazine Amazing Grace, in Tallahassee, Florida and founding manager of Herstore Feminist Bookstore in Tallahassee.
More About Dorothy:
- Obituary, The New York Times
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- Dorothy Allison’s Poetry and Prose: The Power of the Story, 2020 Appalachian Heritage Writer in Residence
- Dorothy Allison, Queer Cultural Center
- Dorothy Allison: Lesbian from another planet, The University of Washington Student Newspaper Thursday, October 12, 1995
- Dorothy Allison papers, 1965-2010, Duke University Libraries
- Wikipedia page
- Cited in Barbara Love’s book, Feminists Who Changed America 1963-1975, pages 9 – 10