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), possibly the first volume of openly lesbian love poetry published in North America. In the 1950s, Gidlow helped found Druid Heights , a bohemian community in Marin County, California . 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). Completed just before her death, her autobiography, Elsa, I Come with My Songs (1986), recounts her life story. In 1962 she, along with Alan Wilson Watts, formed the Society of Comparative Philosophy. After Gidlow’s death, Druid Heights Artists Retreat was created by her estate. [Wikipedia]







This PDF of On A Grey Thread (1923) was created by the Druid Heights Artists Retreat for the Elsa Gidlow Literary Estate in January 2019. It is provided here by the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender (GLBT) Historical Society, San Francisco. The original book was published in 1923 by Will Ransom, Chicago.





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Elsa Gidlow was a British-born, Canadian-raised, American poet, freelance journalist, philosopher. She wrote On A Grey Thread (1923), the first volume of openly lesbian love poetry published in North America, when she was 23. In the 1950s, Gidlow helped found a bohemian community in Marin County, California. The community became known as Druid Heights, the name she had given to her land. In 1962 she, along with Alan Watts, formed the Society of Comparative Philosophy. She provided Alan a place to live and write during the last years of his life. Elsa was the author of thirteen books and appeared as herself in the documentary film, Word Is Out: Stories of Some of Our Lives (1977). Completed just before her death, her autobiography, Elsa, I Come with My Songs (1986), recounts eight decades of her life story.





In 1917, she began seeking out fellow writers and journalists. With collaborator Roswell George Mills, Gidlow published Les Mouches Fantastiques, the first gay and lesbian magazine in North America where gay and lesbian lives were celebrated.



