March 26, 1977

Rita Mae Brown, American poet, novelist and civil rights and gay rights activist, lectured as the keynote speaker of the Women’s Weekend, which took place from March 25-27. Brown’s first novel, Rubyfruit Jungle (1971) dealt openly with lesbian themes, and her collections of poetry, The Hand That Rocks the Cradle and Songs to a Handsome Woman appeared in 1971 and 1973. She was a co-founder in 1969 of the Student Homophile League, the forerunner of the Columbia Queer Alliance.