Jewelle Gomez - The Gilda Stories

Jewelle Gomez - The Gilda Stories

From Black Art Is Lit | Black Literature, Culture and Iconic Stories by Nykieria Chaney

January 29, 2026 · 1h 13m

About this episode

This episode features a discussion on Jewelle Gomez's influential work, The Gilda Stories, and its impact on various academic fields.

This week on Black Art Is Lit, we’re reading The Gilda Stories by Jewelle Gomez.Originally published in the early 1990s, this book entered the literary world at a moment when Black women writers working in speculative and supernatural traditions were rarely centered, and even less often taken seriously. Gomez, an award-winning Black lesbian writer and cultural worker, built a story that has since become a steady presence in college and university classrooms.The Gilda Stories is taught across literature, Black Studies, gender studies, and queer studies courses for how it expands who gets to be at the center of a narrative and what kinds of stories are considered worthy of sustained attention.Subscribe to Black Art Is Lit for weekly readings that trust the listener to think, feel, and decide for themselves.

People in this episode

Host: Nykieria Chaney

Guest: Jewelle Gomez

Topics covered

  • Black literature
  • speculative fiction
  • Black women writers
  • queer studies
  • narrative representation

Keywords

  • Jewelle Gomez
  • The Gilda Stories
  • Black literature
  • speculative fiction
  • queer studies
  • narrative
  • Black women writers

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: The Gilda Stories

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