29 Facts About Ann Bannon

Ann Bannon's books shaped lesbian identity for lesbians and heterosexuals alike, but Bannon was mostly unaware of their impact.

Ann Bannon has been described as "the premier fictional representation of US lesbian life in the fifties and sixties", and it has been said that her books "rest on the bookshelf of nearly every even faintly literate Lesbian".

Ann Bannon was born Ann Weldy in Joliet, Illinois, in 1932.

Ann Bannon was the only child of her mother's first marriage.

Ann Bannon's mother married again and had a son with her second husband.

Ann Bannon's mother married a third time and had four more sons.

Ann Bannon took comfort in a vibrant imaginary life during this time and found solace in writing.

Ann Bannon recalls it was an awkward situation, even though the older sorority sister was "unfailingly gracious" to the younger one.

Ann Bannon recalled entering the communal restroom and seeing the sister, "both of us in underwear, and experienc a sort of electric shock", and trying not to stare at her.

Ann Bannon was influenced by the only lesbian novels she had read, The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall from 1928 and Vin Packer's Spring Fire from 1952, albeit in two different ways: she was unable to relate to the dismal tones in Hall's novel, but as a sorority girl was more familiar with the plot and circumstances of Spring Fire.

The characters and their stories served as an extension of the fantasy life Bannon developed as a child.

Once again based on what Bannon knew, Beebo was nearly 6 feet tall with a husky voice and a formidable physique.

The personality however, Bannon says, was drawn out of her sheer need for Beebo to exist.

Ann Bannon was just, quite literally, the butch of my dreams.

Ann Bannon was interested enough in the money she made from them but had forbidden her to use her married surname, not wishing to see it on a book cover with art of questionable taste.

Ann Bannon took the name "Bannon" from a list of his customers and liked it because it contained her own name in it.

Ann Bannon continued to experience difficulty in her marriage and in realizing that "not all lesbians were nice people", she took these frustrations out on her characters.

Ann Bannon begins an affair with a famous and fading movie star, and follows her to California, only to return to be more honest about what she wants in her life.

In 1961 and 1962 Bannon contributed several articles to ONE, Inc.

Ann Bannon was invited to speak to the Mattachine Society in the early 1960s, but her husband's stern disapproval of her activities began to take its toll.

In 1975 Bannon was asked to include four of her books in Arno Press's library edition of Homosexuality: Lesbians and Gay Men in Society, History and Literature.

Loewenstein suggests the struggles Bannon's characters endured were ones that Bannon must have faced herself.

When Laura declares her joy in her love for Beth in Odd Girl Out while simultaneously questioning if it is right, Loewenstein states "one hears quite clearly the voice of Ann Bannon, questioning her own right to happiness".

Ann Bannon's interest turns to Beebo, whom he finds "handsome" and lost, and he takes her home, gets her drunk, and becomes asexually intimate with her.

Barale writes that Bannon manipulates male readers to become interested in the story, then turns them into voyeurs and imposes homosexual desires upon them, though eventually places them in a safe position to understand a gay story from a heterosexual point of view.

Ann Bannon received the Sacramento State Alumni Association's Distinguished Faculty Award for 2005, and received the Trailblazer Award from the Golden Crown Literary Society the same year; the GCLS created the Ann Bannon GCLS Popular Choice Award.

Ann Bannon was the recipient of the Alice B Award in 2008, that goes to authors whose careers have been distinguished by consistently well-written stories about lesbians.

In May 2008, Bannon was given the Pioneer Award from the Lambda Literary Foundation.

Ann Bannon was a guest of National Public Radio's Peabody Award-winning talk show Fresh Air with Terry Gross, and has been featured in Gross's book, All I Did Was Ask, a collection of transcripts from the show.