Spring Fire

In 1952, Marijane Meaker published the novel Spring Fire under the pseudonym Vin Packer. The book tells a tragic tale of sapphic love between Mitch and Leda in the Tri Epsilon sorority house. In the introduction to the Cleis press 2013 reprint, Meaker reflected that an unhappy ending was a condition of publication in order to avoid censorship from the US postal system. The requirement was not just any unhappy ending, but the lead character had to reject lesbian love, “knowing that it was wrong.” Despite these constraints, the book made a huge impact, including on Ann Bannon who’s own first novel, Odd Girl Out, was inspired by Spring Fire and published in 1957. Bannon wrote to Meaker, and, receiving her encouragement and advice, created the first novel of her now (in)famous Beebo Brinker series. These were some of the first pulp novels written by lesbians, alongside books by Valerie Taylor, Tereska Torres, and Patricia Highsmith. They were sold cheaply at bookstores and corner stands. These early lesbian pulp novels inspired this exhibition.