When Daphne Gottlieb first found herself the character in someone else s story she was intrigued; over time, as she appeared in more and more stories, she started to wonder about the implications of what was real and what wasn t. Did it matter that there were published stories of her having sex in bathrooms, vacant parking lots, on the balcony at a party in an old bordello? Did it matter whether or not they were true? This question sparked the idea for Fucking Daphne, a collection that blurs the lines between reality and fiction and begs the question who is the real Daphne? A pill-popping wild child? A soft place to fall with a broken heart? A dreadlocked vixen? Contributors include Hanne Blank, Stephen Elliot, Sarah Katherine Lewis, and Ariel Gore, who describe, watch, and engage with a character that is not Daphne Gottlieb; Daphne is a projection, a fantasy, a zeitgeist. We are all a multitude of people in bed. We are all Daphne. Harnessing the playfulness of the hoax, the seductiveness of literature, and the edginess of the avant-garde, Fucking Daphne is unique in a culture hungry for sex, information, and most of all, understanding."
Daphne Gottlieb Books
Daphne Gottlieb is a San Francisco-based performance poet whose work emphasizes linguistic playfulness and intimate confession. Her writing frequently explores themes of identity, sexuality, and community, all while maintaining a strong sense of rhythm and sound. Gottlieb shares her experiences through impactful workshops and active engagement with the literary scene. Her poetry is energetic, personal, and bold.
Between 1989 and 1990, Aileen Wuornos, a hitchhiking prostitute, shot, killed, and robbed seven men in remote Florida locations. Arrested in 1991, Wuornos insisted she had acted in self-defense, but the jury had little sympathy. Condemned to death on six separate counts, she was executed by lethal injection in 2002. An abused runaway who turned to prostitution to survive, Wuornos has become iconic of vengeful women who lash out at the nearest target. She has also become a touchstone for women’s, prostitutes’, and prisoners’ rights advocates. Her story has inspired myriad books and articles, as well as the 2003 movie Monster, for which Charlize Theron won an Academy Award. But until now, Wuornos’s uncensored voice has never been heard. Dear Dawn is Wuornos’s autobiography culled from her ten-year death row correspondence with beloved childhood friend Dawn Botkins. Authorized for publication by Wuornos and edited under the guidance of Botkins, the letters not only offer Wuornos’s riveting reflections on the murders, legal battles, and media coverage, but go further, revealing her fears and obsessions, her rich humor and empathy, and her gradual disintegration as her execution approached. A candid life story told to a trusted friend, Dear Dawn is a compelling narrative, unwaveringly true to its source.