It's a good feeling to be able to tell your story to your allies, so we don't lose sight of who we are and who our community is. Also, in these trying times, we want to find meaning in our lives.

These are two reasons why I've launched the third issue of the Lesbian Home Journal. The first issue was printed in 1975 (the second followed several months later), the result of a collaboration by a group of Lesbian feminists who wanted to have some visibility in a way that would build the community we dreamed of. We focused on writing because that's what we had in common. We also felt that women's diaries and letters were dismissed as unimportant and thought the Lesbian Home Journal would serve to elevate these traditional women's writings.

Two of us who contributed to the original issues recently started a conversation that sparked the idea of a third issue. We agreed that the Lesbian community had changed in ways that neither of us fully understood. We are hoping that, through this third issue, a picture of what the Lesbian communities across the country look like in the 21st century can shine through.

We concluded after much discussion that women's journals and letter writing were still on the sidelines of recognized writing, so after almost 50 years, we want to publish writings by everyday women. Any person, no matter their gender identity, that identifies as a Lesbian is welcome to send in several submissions of 700 words or less (diaries, letters, dreams, poems, short memoirs), as well as photos, art, graphics, or maybe even a comic.

Email submissions to [email protected] or mail to Maridee BonaDea, PO Box 1123, Vashon, WA 98070.