Elena Dykewomon
is a long-time social justice activist, editor & teacher who lives in Oakland, stirring up peace whenever she can. Her first novel, Riverfinger Women, came out in 1974 when she was 24 – it was recently given the Lee Lynch Trailblazer award by the Golden Crown Literary Society. She went on to publish eight award-winning books foregrounding lesbian heroism, including her Lambda Award-winning novel, Beyond the Pale, which is still available in audio and eBook formats; her novel Risk is in print from Bywater Books. Her most recent book, What Can I Ask – Collected Poems 1975-2014, is a Sapphic Classic release from Sinister Wisdom and Midsummer Night's Press. From 1987-94, she was the publisher and an editor of the international lesbian-feminist journal, Sinister Wisdom. Many years ago, on the coast of Oregon, she was trained as a letterpress and offset printer and although she is resigned to the digital era, her heart remains on the page. Her terrific spouse of 28 years, Susan Levinkind, died in 2016. She thanks AlterTheater for the opportunity to develop her first full-length play, about the moral dilemmas we encounter when asked to help those close to us die.