Kate Rosenblatt Collection

Collection

Identifier: ROSE

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This collection includes scripts of Kate Rosenblatt's plays: "Quake" (1984), "My Sister" (1985), "Out of Time" (1985), "Requiem for Magda" (1987), "Twenty Two Twenty Three Grove Street" (1987), and "Death is a Family Affair" (1989). Additionally, there are correspondances with publications, contests, and productions that Rosenblatt submitted her plays and poems to.

The anthologies WomanSpirit, Word Weavers, These Treasure Islands, Blackberry Harvest, Women Talking/Women Listening, and Runes feature poems written by Rosenblatt. Her unpublished manuscript for her lesbian novel "Circle of Five" and poetry chapbook "A Woman's Words" are also included.

Issues, organizational records, and graphics from If the Shoe Fits, a women-only newsletter in San Diego are featured.

Advocacy material consits of ephemera from the West Coast Lesbian Conferences, periodicals from the March on Washington, the San Diego Lesbian Press, and Runes, handbooks on ageism, and writings by older lesbians.

Rosenblatt saved various articles, academic papers, and religious and mythological texts relating to Judaism, feminism, and lesbianism. The writings of Adrienne Rich and other Jewish women are featured.

Dates

Creation: 1980-1996

Conditions Governing Access

There are no restrictions on the collection. The collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Property rights to the physical objects belong to the June L. Mazer Lesbian Archives. All other rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or heir for permission to publish where the June L. Mazer Lesbian Archives do not hold the copyright.

Biographical / Historical

Katherine (Kate) Rosenblatt was born on April 26, 1922 in Evanston, Illinois.

She received her B.A. from Mills College in 1944, her M.Ed. from the University of Miami in 1968, and her Ph.D. from Union Graduate Schcool in 1976.

Rosenblatt was a case worker for Baltimore's Department of Public Welfare (1945-1946), served on the board of directors (1950-1960) and as president (1955-1960) of the Winnetka Public School Nursery, taught at Sunland Training Center (1968-1969), and was a co-grantee of the Department of Health, Education, and Division of Retardation in Tallahassee Florida.In 1976, Rosenblatt came out and moved to California after completing her doctorate and taught at Napa County Community College, Redwood College, and Sonoma State University between 1977 and 1980.

An advocate for older women and lesbians, Rosenblatt was a founding member of Lavender Hill Older Women's Country Community and an organizer for the first and second West Coast Old Lesbian Conferences. In 1985, Rosenblatt met her partner Joyce Pierson at the Older Women's Network gathering in Santa Barbara and had been living together since October 1985.

Rosenblatt was also an accomplished playwright and poet. Her play "Death is a Family Affair" won first place in the Tuscon, Arizona play competition and was produced by Womankraft Developmental Theater from 1989 to 1990. Her one act "Twenty Two Twenty Three Grove Street" was performed at the first West Coast Old Lesbian Conference in 1987, and other one acts "Quake" and "Requiem for Magda" were performed at Mira Costa College in 1984 and 1987, respectively.

As a poet, Rosenblatt published pieces in WomanSpirit, Word Weavers, These Treasure Islands, Blackberry Harvest, Women Talking/Women Listening, and Runes. She also won third place in the Ursus Press writing contest for her poem "Del Mar Sunset" and received third place and first honorable mention awards in the California Press Southern District Women Unpublished Writers Contest for her poems "Basic Energy" and "Hug Me Please," respectively.

Rosenblatt continued to contribute to older lesbians' movements and community groups, becoming a co-founder for the San Diego Lesbian Newspaper, organizer for the West Coast Crones Conference and San Francisco National Old Lesbian Conference, and an active member of the Gay and Lesbian Outreach to Elders and various women's programs in San Francisco.

Rosenblatt died on November 10, 2009 in her home in Oakland, California. She was survived by partner Joyce Pierson, brothers Herbert Philipsborn Jr. and Thomas Philipsborn, daughters Susan Rosenblatt and Elizabeth Rosenblatt, and son Hal Ryder.

Extent

1 Linear Feet (2 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Katherine (Kate) Rosenblatt (1922-2009) was a lesbian, playwright, poet, and activist for older women. This collection includes her play scripts, published poetry, organizational materials for the West Coast Old Lesbian Conference, and various periodicals, newsletters, and lesbian and feminist writings.