50 Years in the Jungle

Although we won't get to Rita Mae Brown's Rubyfruit Jungle until next spring, the New York Times is marking the 50th anniversary of its fall 1973 publication with a wonderful roundup of reactions to the novel from a host of musicians and writers. I especially like this photo of the author, both because it captures her personality so well and because its caption reminds us of her strong connection to Washington, D.C., during the 1970s. Brown was a founding member of The Furies Collective, a separatist lesbian feminist community in D.C. that purchased and lived in two houses. The experiment only lasted a year (1971-1972), but its example remained influential long afterward. Brown went on to earn a doctorate in political science from the Institute for Public Studies in D.C.

Rita Mae Brown at the 1973 publication party for “Rubyfruit Jungle” at Lammas Women’s Books & More in Washington, D.C.Credit...

JEB (Joan E. Biren)