Countering the Myths: Lesbians Write About the Men in Their Lives

Janet Money, formerly the sports editor of the Woodstock Daily
Sentinel-Review, is a freelance writer and editor in London, Ontario.

Countering the Myths is an interesting, if uneven, collection of stories
and poems by lesbians on the subject of men.

Lesléa Newman contributes a wonderful story entitled “A Letter to
Harvey Milk.” Mona Oikawa has two contributions: “In Memory of
Ernie,” a prose elegy to her father, with whom she could never talk
about being a lesbian; and “Ritual,” a moving poem about his death.
Karen Tulchinsky addresses gay men and AIDS deftly in “Sadly Ever
After,” a humorous and affectionate story about a community of
housemates torn apart by illness and death. Jacquie Buncel writes about
an ex-lover in “To Tim, Eight Years with You, Many Years Ago,” a
story that conveys the awkwardness of reconnecting after the rules have
changed.

Although this collection is not without its gems, it is unfortunate
that some of the weaker entries were not weeded out.