Expanding the Map of Sapphic Modernism(s)

Abstract

Abstract Although sapphic modernism is a phenomenon thoroughly examined in Western European cultures, the history of East European sapphic writings remains a relatively neglected area, both in global lesbian and queer studies and in local histories. This article is devoted to nineteenth-century Polish, Russian, and Ukrainian literature. It outlines the complicated emergence of local queer studies and draws attention to the position of women's writing within it. It also discusses the tools provided by intersectional, transnational approaches. Combined with the extensive knowledge of global lesbian studies, these methods allow for the exploration of local histories of queer women writing, particularly from the Russian Empire's territories. This article highlights intersections between same-sex desire's literary expressibility and the writers’ affiliation within the same imperial structure, which forced different strategies of sapphic expressions to emerge from this intersection. To illustrate those strategies, the article discusses examples provided by Narcyza Żmichowska, Lesya Ukrainka, and Lydia Zinovieva-Annibal.