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Audre Lorde ( ; born Audrey Geraldine Lorde; February 18, 1934 – November 17, 1992) was an American writer,
professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...
,
philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
, intersectional feminist,
poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...
and
civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...
activist. She was a self-described "Black, lesbian, feminist, socialist, mother, warrior, poet" who dedicated her life and talents to confronting different forms of injustice, as she believed there could be "no hierarchy of oppressions" among "those who share the goals of liberation and a workable future for our children." As a poet, she is well known for technical mastery and emotional expression, as well as her poems that express anger and outrage at civil and social injustices she observed throughout her life. She was the recipient of national and international awards and the founding member of '' Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press''. As a
spoken word Spoken word is an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a 20th-century continuation of an oral tradition, ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetic ...
artist, her delivery has been called powerful, melodic, and intense by the
Poetry Foundation The Poetry Foundation is a United States literary society that seeks to promote poetry and lyricism in the wider culture. It was formed from ''Poetry'' magazine, which it continues to publish, with a 2003 gift of $200 million from philanthrop ...
. Her poems and prose largely deal with issues related to civil rights, feminism, lesbianism, illness, disability, and the exploration of Black female identity.


Early life

Audre Lorde was born on February 18, 1934, in New York City to Caribbean immigrants Frederick Byron Lorde and Linda Gertrude Belmar Lorde. Her father, Frederick Byron Lorde (Byron), was born on April 20, 1898, in
Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...
. Her mother, Linda Gertrude Belmar Lorde, was born in 1902 on the island
Carriacou Carriacou ( ) is an island of the Grenadine Islands. It is a part of the nation of Grenada and is located in the south-eastern Caribbean Sea, northeast of the island of Grenada and the north coast of South America. The name is derived from the ...
in
Grenada Grenada is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean Sea. The southernmost of the Windward Islands, Grenada is directly south of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and about north of Trinidad and Tobago, Trinidad and the So ...
. Lorde's mother was of mixed ancestry but passed as Spanish, which was a source of pride for her family. Lorde's father was darker than the Belmar family liked, and they only allowed the couple to marry because of Byron's charm, ambition, and persistence. After their immigration, the new family settled in
Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...
, a diverse neighborhood in upper Manhattan, New York. Lorde was the youngest of three daughters, her older sisters named Phyllis and Helen Lorde. Lorde was nearsighted to the point of being legally blind, so she grew up listening to her mother's stories about the
West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...
rather than reading them. At the age of four, she learned to talk while she learned to read, and her mother taught her to write at around the same time. She wrote her first poem when she was in eighth grade. Born as Audrey Geraldine Lorde, she chose to drop the "y" from her first name while still a child, explaining in '' Zami: A New Spelling of My Name'' that she was more interested in the artistic symmetry of the "e"-endings in the two side-by-side names "Audre Lorde" than in spelling her name the way her parents had intended. Lorde's relationship with her parents was difficult from a young age. She spent very little time with her father and mother, who were both busy maintaining their real estate business in the tumultuous economy after the Great Depression. When she did see them, they were often cold or emotionally distant. In particular, Lorde's relationship with her mother, who was deeply suspicious of people with darker skin than hers (which Lorde had) and the outside world in general, was characterized by "tough love" and strict adherence to family rules. Lorde's difficult relationship with her mother figured prominently in her later poems, such as ''
Coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...
s "Story Books on a Kitchen Table." As a child, Lorde struggled with communication, and came to appreciate the power of poetry as a form of expression. She even described herself as thinking in poetry. She memorized a great deal of poetry, and would use it to communicate, to the extent that, "If asked how she was feeling, Audre would reply by reciting a poem." Around the age of twelve, she began writing her own poetry and connecting with others at her school who were considered "outcasts", as she felt she was. Raised
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
, Lorde attended parochial schools before moving on to
Hunter College High School Hunter College High School is a public academic magnet secondary school located in the Carnegie Hill section of the Upper East Side of Manhattan. It is administered and funded by Hunter College of the City University of New York (CUNY) and no t ...
, a secondary school for intellectually gifted students. Poet Diane di Prima was a classmate and friend. While attending Hunter, Lorde published her first poem in '' Seventeen'' magazine after her school's literary journal rejected it for being inappropriate. Also in high school, Lorde participated in poetry workshops sponsored by the Harlem Writers Guild, but noted that she always felt like somewhat of an outcast from the Guild. She felt she was not accepted because she "was both crazy and
queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are non-heterosexual or non- cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against LGBTQ people in the late 19th century. From the late 1980s, queer activists began to ...
but
hey thought Hey, HEY, or Hey! may refer to: Music * Hey (band), a Polish rock band Albums * ''Hey'' (Andreas Bourani album) or the title song (see below), 2014 * ''Hey!'' (Julio Iglesias album) or the title song, 1980 * ''Hey!'' (Jullie album) or the ...
I would grow out of it all." Lorde graduated from
Hunter College High School Hunter College High School is a public academic magnet secondary school located in the Carnegie Hill section of the Upper East Side of Manhattan. It is administered and funded by Hunter College of the City University of New York (CUNY) and no t ...
in 1951. ''Zami'' places her father's death from a stroke around New Year's 1953.


Career

In 1954, she spent a pivotal year as a student at the
National Autonomous University of Mexico The National Autonomous University of Mexico (, UNAM) is a public university, public research university in Mexico. It has several campuses in Mexico City, and many others in various locations across Mexico, as well as a presence in nine countri ...
, a period she described as a time of affirmation and renewal. During this time, she confirmed her identity on personal and artistic levels as both a lesbian and a poet. On her return to New York, Lorde attended
Hunter College Hunter College is a public university in New York City, United States. It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools ...
, and graduated in the class of 1959. While there, she worked as a librarian, continued writing, and became an active participant in the gay culture of
Greenwich Village Greenwich Village, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the north, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the s ...
. She furthered her education at the
Columbia University School of Library Service The Columbia University School of Library Service was a school dedicated to education for librarianship that was part of Columbia University in New York City. It was founded by Melvil Dewey and began operation in 1887 as the Columbia College Schoo ...
, earning a master's degree in
library science Library and information science (LIS)Library and Information Sciences is the name used in the Dewey Decimal Classification for class 20 from the 18th edition (1971) to the 22nd edition (2003). are two interconnected disciplines that deal with info ...
in 1961. During this period, she worked as a public librarian in nearby
Mount Vernon, New York Mount Vernon is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is an inner suburb of New York City, immediately to the north of the Borough (New York City), borough of the Bronx. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Moun ...
. In 1968 Lorde was writer-in-residence at
Tougaloo College Tougaloo College is a private historically black college in the Tougaloo area of Jackson, Mississippi, United States. It is affiliated with the United Church of Christ and Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). It was established in 1869 by ...
in Mississippi. Lorde's time at Tougaloo College, like her year at the National University of Mexico, was a formative experience for her as an artist. She led workshops with her young, black undergraduate students, many of whom were eager to discuss the civil rights issues of that time. Through her interactions with her students, she reaffirmed her desire not only to live out her "crazy and queer" identity, but also to devote attention to the formal aspects of her craft as a poet. Her book of poems, ''Cables to Rage,'' came out of her time and experiences at Tougaloo. From 1972 to 1987, Lorde resided on
Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...
. During that time, in addition to writing and teaching she co-founded Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press. In 1977, Lorde became an associate of the
Women's Institute for Freedom of the Press Women's Institute for Freedom of the Press (WIFP) is an American nonprofit publishing organization that was founded in Washington, D.C. in 1972. The organization works to increase media democracy and strengthen independent media. Basic informati ...
(WIFP). WIFP is an American nonprofit publishing organization. The organization works to increase communication between women and connect the public with forms of women-based media. Lorde taught in the Education Department at
Lehman College Lehman College is a public college in New York City, United States. Founded in 1931 as the Bronx campus of Hunter College, it became an independent college in 1967. The college is named after Herbert H. Lehman, a former New York governor, United ...
from 1969 to 1970, then as a professor of English at
John Jay College of Criminal Justice The John Jay College of Criminal Justice (John Jay) is a public college focused on criminal justice and located in New York City. It is a senior college of the City University of New York (CUNY). John Jay was founded as the only liberal arts col ...
(both part of the
City University of New York The City University of New York (CUNY, pronounced , ) is the Public university, public university system of Education in New York City, New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven ...
, CUNY) from 1970 to 1981. There, she fought for the creation of a
black studies Black studies or Africana studies (with nationally specific terms, such as African American studies and Black Canadian studies), is an interdisciplinary academic field that primarily focuses on the study of the history, culture, and politics of ...
department. In 1981, she went on to teach at her alma mater,
Hunter College Hunter College is a public university in New York City, United States. It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools ...
(also CUNY), as the distinguished Thomas Hunter chair. As a queer Black woman, she was an outsider in a white-male dominated field and her experiences in this environment deeply influenced her work. New fields such as African American studies and women's studies advanced the topics that scholars were addressing and garnered attention to groups that had previously been rarely discussed. With this newfound academic environment, Lorde was inspired to not only write poetry but also essays and articles about queer, feminist, and African American studies. In 1980, together with Barbara Smith and Cherríe Moraga, she co-founded Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press, the first U.S. publisher for women of color. In 1981, Lorde was among the founders of the Women's Coalition of St. Croix, an organization dedicated to assisting women who have survived sexual abuse and
intimate partner violence Intimate partner violence (IPV) is domestic violence by a current or former spouse or partner in an intimate relationship against the other spouse or partner. IPV can take a number of forms, including physical abuse, physical, verbal abuse, verb ...
. In the late 1980s, she also helped establish Sisterhood in Support of Sisters (SISA) in South Africa to benefit black women who were affected by
apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English:  , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...
and other forms of injustice. In 1985, Audre Lorde was a part of a delegation of black women writers who had been invited to
Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
. The trip was sponsored by ''
The Black Scholar ''The Black Scholar'' (''TBS'') is a journal founded in California, in 1969, by Robert Chrisman, Nathan Hare, and Allan Ross. It is the third oldest Black studies journal in the US, after the NAACP’s ''The Crisis'' (founded in 1910) and the ' ...
'' and the Union of Cuban Writers. She embraced the shared sisterhood as black women writers. They visited Cuban poets Nancy Morejon and Nicolas Guillen. They discussed whether the Cuban revolution had truly changed racism and the status of lesbians and gays there.


The Berlin years

In 1984, Lorde started a visiting professorship in
West Berlin West Berlin ( or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin from 1948 until 1990, during the Cold War. Although West Berlin lacked any sovereignty and was under military occupation until German reunification in 1 ...
at the
Free University of Berlin The Free University of Berlin (, often abbreviated as FU Berlin or simply FU) is a public university, public research university in Berlin, Germany. It was founded in West Berlin in 1948 with American support during the early Cold War period a ...
. She was invited by FU lecturer Dagmar Schultz who had met her at the UN "World Women's Conference" in Copenhagen in 1980. During her time in Germany, Lorde became an influential part of the then-nascent Afro-German movement. Dagmar Schultz (2015). "Audre Lorde – The Berlin Years, 1984 to 1992". In Broeck, Sabine; Bolaki, Stella. ''Audre Lorde's Transnational Legacies''. Boston, MA: University of Massachusetts Press. pp. 27–38. . Together with a group of black women activists in Berlin, Audre Lorde coined the term "Afro-German" in 1984 and, consequently, gave rise to the Black movement in Germany. During her many trips to Germany, Lorde became a mentor to a number of women, including May Ayim, Ika Hügel-Marshall, and Helga Emde.Gerund, Katharina (2015). "Transracial Feminist Alliances?". In Broeck, Sabine; Bolaki, Stella. ''Audre Lorde's Transnational Legacies''. Boston, MA: University of Massachusetts Press, pp. 122–32. . Instead of fighting systemic issues through violence, Lorde thought that language was a powerful form of resistance and encouraged the women of Germany to speak up instead of fight back. Her impact on Germany reached more than just Afro-German women; Lorde helped increase awareness of intersectionality across racial and ethnic lines. Audre Lorde provided a safe space for these Black German women to process and handle their emotions in any way that they seemed fit. To be othered by mainstream German society, and to be defined through others' perceptions of one's apparent “faults” (mixed heritage) can destroy one's sense of self. In addition, many of these women weren't able to fully express all facets of their being and found being pigeonholed by society immensely restrictive. Audre Lorde was able to begin to bridge the gap between these women's perceived identity by the German public and their self-actualized being. Lorde created a space for which these women could discuss their experiences and grow a Black German epistemology. This is not to say that Lorde single-handedly started this identification of a pro-Black German identity but more so that she offered these German women a model for kinship, self-naming, and intellectual activism. In December 1989, the month after the
fall of the Berlin Wall The fall of the Berlin Wall (, ) on 9 November in German history, 9 November 1989, during the Peaceful Revolution, marked the beginning of the destruction of the Berlin Wall and the figurative Iron Curtain, as East Berlin transit restrictions we ...
, Lorde wrote her poem "East Berlin 1989" conveying her views of this historic event. In the poem, while Lorde voices her alarm about increased violent racism against Afro-Germans and other Black people in Berlin due to the new free movement of East Germans, she also more broadly and fundamentally decries the triumph of capitalist democratic freedoms and Western influences, demonstrating her deep skepticism about, and resistance to, the "
Peaceful Revolution The Peaceful Revolution () – also, in German called ' (, "the turning point") – was one of the peaceful revolutions of 1989 at the peak of the collapse of the Eastern Bloc in the late 1980s. A process of sociopolitical change that led to, am ...
" that would lead to the transition of Communist
East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...
to parliamentary liberal democracy, market capitalism, and ultimately
German reunification German reunification () was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state, which began on 9 November 1989 and culminated on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of the East Germany, German Democratic Republic and the int ...
. Lorde's impact on the Afro-German movement was the focus of the 2012 documentary by Dagmar Schultz. ''Audre Lorde: The Berlin Years 1984–1992'' was accepted by the
Berlin Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...
, Berlinale, and had its World Premiere at the 62nd Annual Festival in 2012. The film has gone on to film festivals around the world, and continued to be viewed at festivals until 2018. The documentary has received seven awards, including Winner of the Best Documentary Audience Award 2014 at the 15th Reelout Queer Film + Video Festival, the Gold Award for Best Documentary at the
International Film Festival for Women, Social Issues, and Zero Discrimination International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...
, and the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the Barcelona International LGBT Film Festival. ''Audre Lorde: The Berlin Years'' revealed the previous lack of recognition that Lorde received for her contributions towards the theories of intersectionality. Lorde was State Poet of New York from 1991 to 1992.


Poetry

Lorde focused her discussion of difference not only on differences between groups of women but between conflicting differences within the individual. "I am defined as other in every group I'm part of," she declared. "Yet without community," Lorde wrote, "there is certainly no liberation, no future, only the most vulnerable and temporary armistice between me and my oppression". She described herself both as a part of a "continuum of women" and a "concert of voices" within herself. Her conception of her many layers of selfhood is replicated in the multi-genres of her work. Critic Carmen Birkle wrote: "Her multicultural self is thus reflected in a multicultural text, in multi-genres, in which the individual cultures are no longer separate and autonomous entities but melt into a larger whole without losing their individual importance." Her refusal to be placed in a particular category, whether social or literary, was characteristic of her determination to come across as an individual rather than a stereotype. Lorde considered herself a "lesbian, mother, warrior, poet" and used poetry to get this message across.


Early works

Lorde's poetry was published very regularly during the 1960s – in
Langston Hughes James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1901 – May 22, 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri. An early innovator of jazz poetry, Hughes is best known as a leader of the Harl ...
' 1962 '' New Negro Poets, USA''; in several foreign anthologies; and in black literary magazines. During this time, she was also politically active in
civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...
,
anti-war An anti-war movement is a social movement in opposition to one or more nations' decision to start or carry on an armed conflict. The term ''anti-war'' can also refer to pacifism, which is the opposition to all use of military force during conf ...
, and
feminist movement The feminist movement, also known as the women's movement, refers to a series of social movements and political campaigns for Radical politics, radical and Liberalism, liberal reforms on women's issues created by inequality between men and wom ...
s. In 1968, Lorde published ''The First Cities'', her first volume of poems. It was edited by Diane di Prima, a former classmate and friend from Hunter College High School. ''The First Cities'' has been described as a "quiet, introspective book", and
Dudley Randall Dudley Randall (January 14, 1914 – August 5, 2000) was an African-American poetry, poet and poetry publisher from Detroit, Michigan. He founded a African-American book publishers in the United States, 1960–80, pioneering publishing company cal ...
, a poet and critic, asserted in his review of the book that Lorde "does not wave a black flag, but her Blackness is there, implicit, in the bone". Her second volume, ''Cables to Rage'' (1970), which was mainly written during her tenure as poet-in-residence at
Tougaloo College Tougaloo College is a private historically black college in the Tougaloo area of Jackson, Mississippi, United States. It is affiliated with the United Church of Christ and Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). It was established in 1869 by ...
in Mississippi, addressed themes of love, betrayal, childbirth, and the complexities of raising children. It is particularly noteworthy for the poem "Martha", in which Lorde openly confirms her homosexuality for the first time in her writing: " shall love each other here if ever at all." Nominated for the
National Book Award The National Book Awards (NBA) are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. ...
for poetry in 1974, ''From a Land Where Other People Live'' (
Broadside Press Broadside Lotus Press is an independent press created from the merger of two Detroit-based publishers Broadside Press, founded by Dudley Randall in 1965; and Naomi Long Madgett's Lotus Press, founded in 1972. At the time of the merger they wer ...
) shows Lorde's personal struggles with identity and anger at social injustice. The volume deals with themes of anger, loneliness, and injustice, as well as what it means to be a black woman, mother, friend, and lover. 1974 saw the release of ''New York Head Shop and Museum'', which gives a picture of Lorde's New York through the lenses of both the civil rights movement and her own restricted childhood: stricken with poverty and neglect and, in Lorde's opinion, in need of political action.


Wider recognition

Despite the success of these volumes, it was the release of ''
Coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...
'' in 1976 that established Lorde as an influential voice in the
Black Arts Movement The Black Arts Movement (BAM) was an African Americans, African-American-led art movement that was active during the 1960s and 1970s. Through activism and art, BAM created new cultural institutions and conveyed a message of black pride. The mov ...
, and the large publishing house behind it – Norton – helped introduce her to a wider audience. The volume includes poems from both ''The First Cities'' and ''Cables to Rage'', and it unites many of the themes Lorde would become known for throughout her career: her rage at racial injustice, her celebration of her black identity, and her call for an intersectional consideration of women's experiences. Lorde followed ''Coal'' up with ''Between Our Selves'' (also in 1976) and ''Hanging Fire'' (1978). In Lorde's volume ''The Black Unicorn'' (1978), she describes her identity within the mythos of African female deities of creation, fertility, and warrior strength. This reclamation of African female identity both builds and challenges existing Black Arts ideas about
pan-Africanism Pan-Africanism is a nationalist movement that aims to encourage and strengthen bonds of solidarity between all Indigenous peoples of Africa, indigenous peoples and diasporas of African ancestry. Based on a common goal dating back to the Atla ...
. While writers like
Amiri Baraka Amiri Baraka (born Everett Leroy Jones; October 7, 1934 – January 9, 2014), previously known as LeRoi Jones and Imamu Amear Baraka, was an American writer of poetry, drama, fiction, essays, and music criticism. He was the author of numerous b ...
and
Ishmael Reed Ishmael Scott Reed (born February 22, 1938) is an American poet, novelist, essayist, songwriter, composer, playwright, editor and publisher known for his Satire, satirical works challenging American political culture. Perhaps his best-known wor ...
utilized African
cosmology Cosmology () is a branch of physics and metaphysics dealing with the nature of the universe, the cosmos. The term ''cosmology'' was first used in English in 1656 in Thomas Blount's ''Glossographia'', with the meaning of "a speaking of the wo ...
in a way that "furnished a repertoire of bold male gods capable of forging and defending an aboriginal Black universe," in Lorde's writing "that warrior ethos is transferred to a female vanguard capable equally of force and fertility." Lorde's poetry became more open and personal as she grew older and became more confident in her sexuality. In '' Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches'', Lorde states, "Poetry is the way we help give name to the nameless so it can be thought... As they become known to and accepted by us, our feelings and the honest exploration of them become sanctuaries and spawning grounds for the most radical and daring ideas." ''Sister Outsider'' also elaborates Lorde's challenge to European-American traditions.


Prose

''
The Cancer Journals ''The Cancer Journals'' is a 1980 book of non-fiction by Audre Lorde. It deals with her struggle with breast cancer. Summary ''The Cancer Journals'' is a 1980 book of non-fiction by poet and activist Audre Lorde. It deals with her struggle with b ...
'' (1980) and ''A Burst of Light'' (1988) both use non-fiction prose, including essays and journal entries, to bear witness to, explore, and reflect on Lorde's diagnosis, treatment, recovery from breast cancer, and ultimately fatal recurrence with liver metastases. In both works, Lorde deals with Western notions of illness, disability, treatment, cancer and sexuality, and physical beauty and
prosthesis In medicine, a prosthesis (: prostheses; from ), or a prosthetic implant, is an artificial device that replaces a missing body part, which may be lost through physical trauma, disease, or a condition present at birth (Congenital, congenital disord ...
, as well as themes of death, fear of mortality, survival, emotional healing, and inner power. Lorde's deeply personal book '' Zami: A New Spelling of My Name'' (1982), subtitled a "biomythography", chronicles her childhood and adulthood. The narrative deals with the evolution of Lorde's sexuality and self-awareness.


''Sister Outsider''

In '' Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches'' (1984), Lorde asserts the necessity of communicating the experience of marginalized groups to make their struggles visible in a repressive society. She emphasizes the need for different groups of people (particularly white women and African-American women) to find common ground in their experiences in life, but also to face difference directly, and use it as a source of strength rather than alienation. She repeatedly emphasizes the need for community in the struggle to build a better world. How to constructively channel the anger and rage incited by oppression is another prominent theme throughout her works, and in this collection in particular. Her most famous essay, "The Master's Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master's House", is included in ''Sister Outsider''. Lorde questions the scope and ability for change to be instigated when examining problems through a racist, patriarchal lens. She insists that women see differences between other women not as something to be tolerated, but something that is necessary to generate power and to actively "be" in the world. This will create a community that embraces differences, which will ultimately lead to liberation. Lorde elucidates, "Divide and conquer, in our world, must become define and empower."Lorde, Audre. "The Master's Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master's House." ''This Bridge Called My Back,'' edited by Cherrie Moraga and Gloria Anzaldua, State University of New York Press, 2015, 94–97. Also, people must educate themselves about the oppression of others because expecting a marginalized group to educate the oppressors is the continuation of racist, patriarchal thought. She explains that this is a major tool utilized by oppressors to keep the oppressed occupied with the master's concerns. She concludes that to bring about real change, we cannot work within the racist, patriarchal framework because change brought about in that will not remain. Also in ''Sister Outsider'' is the essay, "The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action". Lorde discusses the importance of speaking, even when afraid, because otherwise silence immobilizes and chokes us. Many people fear to speak the truth because of the real risks of retaliation, but Lorde warns, "Your silence does not protect you." Lorde emphasizes that "the transformation of silence into language and action is a self-revelation, and that always seems fraught with danger."Lorde, Audre. "The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action.*" ''Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches,'' Ten Speed Press, 2007, 40–44. People are afraid of others' reactions for speaking, but mostly for demanding visibility, which is essential to live. Lorde adds, "We can sit in our corners mute forever while our sisters and ourselves are wasted, while our children are distorted and destroyed, while our earth is poisoned; we can sit in our safe corners mute as bottles, and we will still be no less afraid." "People are taught to respect their fear of speaking more than silence, but ultimately, the silence will choke us anyway, so we might as well speak the truth." Lorde writes that we can learn to speak even when we are afraid. In ''Age, Race, Class, and Sex: Women Redefining Difference'', Lorde emphasizes the importance of educating others. However, she stresses that in order to educate others, one must first be educated. Empowering people who are doing the work does not mean using privilege to overstep and overpower such groups; but rather, privilege must be used to hold door open for other allies. Lorde describes the inherent problems within society by saying, "racism, the belief in the inherent superiority of one race over all others and thereby the right to dominance. Sexism, the belief in the inherent superiority of one sex over the other and thereby the right to dominance. Ageism. Heterosexism. Elitism. Classism." Lorde finds herself among some of these "deviant" groups in society, which set the tone for the status quo and what "not to be" in society. Lorde argues that women feel pressure to conform to their "oneness" before recognizing the separation among them due to their "manyness", or aspects of their identity. She stresses that this behavior is exactly what "explains feminists' inability to forge the kind of alliances necessary to create a better world." In relation to non-
intersectional feminism Intersectionality is an analytical framework for understanding how groups' and individuals' social and political identities result in unique combinations of discrimination and privilege. Examples of these intersecting and overlapping factor ...
in the United States, Lorde famously said:


Film

Lorde had several films that highlighted her journey as an activist in the 1980s and 1990s. ''The Berlin Years: 1984–1992'' documented Lorde's time in Germany as she led
Afro-Germans Afro-Germans () or Black Germans () are German Citizens of Sub-Saharan African descent. Cities such as Hamburg and Frankfurt, which were formerly centres of occupation forces following World War II and more recent immigration, have substantial ...
in a movement that would allow black people to establish identities for themselves outside of stereotypes and discrimination. After a long history of systemic racism in Germany, Lorde introduced a new sense of empowerment for minorities. As seen in the film, she walks through the streets with pride despite stares and words of discouragement. Including moments like these in a documentary was important for people to see during that time. It inspired them to take charge of their identities and discover who they are outside of the labels put on them by society. The film also educates people on the history of racism in Germany. This enables viewers to understand how Germany reached this point in history and how the society developed. Through her promotion of the study of history and her example of taking her experiences in her stride, she influenced people of many different backgrounds. The film documents Lorde's efforts to empower and encourage women to start the Afro-German movement. What began as a few friends meeting in a friend's home to get to know other black people, turned into what is now known as the Afro-German movement. Lorde inspired black women to refute the designation of "
Mulatto ( , ) is a Race (human categorization), racial classification that refers to people of mixed Sub-Saharan African, African and Ethnic groups in Europe, European ancestry only. When speaking or writing about a singular woman in English, the ...
", a label which was imposed on them, and switch to the newly coined, self-given "
Afro-German Afro-Germans () or Black Germans () are German Citizens of Sub-Saharan African descent. Cities such as Hamburg and Frankfurt, which were formerly centres of occupation forces following World War II and more recent immigration, have substantial ...
", a term that conveyed a sense of pride. Lorde inspired Afro-German women to create a community of like-minded people. Some Afro-German women, such as Ika Hügel-Marshall, had never met another black person and the meetings offered opportunities to express thoughts and feelings. ''Body of a Poet'': 1995 was written as a tribute biopic written to honor Lorde. The film centers on the efforts of a young group of lesbians of color. The film celebrates the life and work of Audre Lorde from her birth to her death.


Theory

Her writings are based on the "theory of difference", the idea that the binary opposition between men and women is overly simplistic; although feminists have found it necessary to present the illusion of a solid, unified whole, the category of women itself is full of subdivisions. Lorde identified issues of race, class, age and ageism, sex and sexuality and, later in her life, chronic illness and disability; the latter becoming more prominent in her later years as she lived with cancer. She wrote of all of these factors as fundamental to her experience of being a woman. She argued that, although differences in gender have received all the focus, it is essential that these other differences are also recognized and addressed. "Lorde," writes , "puts her emphasis on the authenticity of experience. She wants her difference acknowledged but not judged; she does not want to be subsumed into the one general category of 'woman. This theory is today known as
intersectionality Intersectionality is an analytical framework for understanding how groups' and individuals' social and political identities result in unique combinations of discrimination and privilege. Examples of these intersecting and overlapping factor ...
. While acknowledging that the differences between women are wide and varied, most of Lorde's works are concerned with two subsets that concerned her primarily – race and sexuality. In Ada Gay Griffin and Michelle Parkerson's documentary ''A Litany for Survival: The Life and Work of Audre Lorde'', Lorde says, "Let me tell you first about what it was like being a Black woman poet in the '60s, from jump. It meant being invisible. It meant being really invisible. It meant being doubly invisible as a Black feminist woman and it meant being triply invisible as a Black lesbian and feminist".Griffin, Ada Gay; Michelle Parkerson
"Audre Lorde"
In her essay "The Erotic as Power", written in 1978 and collected in ''
Sister Outsider ''Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches'' is a collection of essential essays and speeches written by Audre Lorde, a writer who focuses on the particulars of her identity: Black woman, lesbian, poet, activist, cancer survivor, mother, and feminis ...
'', Lorde theorizes
the Erotic The Erotic is a concept of a source of power and resources that are available within all humans, which draws on Femininity, feminine and Spirituality, spiritual approaches to introspection. The erotic was first described by Audre Lorde in her 1978 ...
as a site of power for women only when they learn to release it from its suppression and embrace it, without the sexualized meaning it often holds in mainstream society. She proposes that the Erotic needs to be explored and experienced wholeheartedly, because it exists not only in reference to sexuality and the sexual, but also as a feeling of enjoyment, love, and thrill that is felt towards any task or experience that satisfies women in their lives, be it reading a book or loving one's job.Audre Lorde, "The Erotic as Power"
978 Year 978 ( CMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Battle of Pankaleia: Rebel forces under General Bardas Skleros are defeated by the Byzantine army loyal to Emper ...
republished in Audre Lorde, Sister Outsider (New York: Ten Speed Press, 2007), 53–58
She dismisses "the false belief that only by the suppression of the erotic within our lives and consciousness can women be truly strong. But that strength is illusory, for it is fashioned within the context of male models of power." She explains how patriarchal society has misnamed it and used it against women, causing women to fear it. Women also fear it because the erotic is powerful and a deep feeling. Women must share each other's power rather than use it without consent, which is abuse. They should do it as a method to connect everyone in their differences and similarities. Utilizing the erotic as power allows women to use their knowledge and power to face the issues of racism, patriarchy, and our anti-erotic society. She claims that the erotic can be used as a source of power for women to live with passion in all areas of their life. With the erotic guiding life, Lorde encourages women to use the erotic as a compass to identify what holds value in women's lives. Furthermore, Lorde criticizes the idea of
compulsory heterosexuality Compulsory heterosexuality, often shortened to comphet, is the theory that heterosexuality is assumed and enforced upon people by a patriarchal, allonormative, and heteronormative society. The term was popularized by Adrienne Rich in her 1980 ...
and the idea that women's happiness will come through marriage, god, or religion. The idea of the erotic will empower women to not settle for what is conventionally expected or safe leaning into the idea of resisting patriarchal values put in place over women and their sexuality. Lorde sees the suppression of the erotic or conformity to heterosexual norms as a form of control over women. In order to assume control over oneself, she urges women to reclaim the erotic and assert control. She erases the erotic differences that lie between varying sexualities in order to promote these desires as a creative force for revolutionary change.


Feminist thought

Lorde set out to confront issues of racism in feminist thought. She maintained that a great deal of the scholarship of white feminists served to augment the oppression of black women, a conviction that led to angry confrontation, most notably in a blunt open letter addressed to the fellow radical lesbian feminist
Mary Daly Mary Daly (October 16, 1928 – January 3, 2010) was an American radical feminist philosopher and theologian. Daly, who described herself as a "radical lesbian feminist", taught at the Jesuit-run Boston College for 33 years. Once a practicing ...
, to which Lorde claimed she received no reply. Daly's reply letter to Lorde, dated four months later, was found in 2003 in Lorde's files after she died. This fervent disagreement with notable white feminists furthered Lorde's persona as an outsider: "In the institutional milieu of
black feminist Black feminism is a branch of feminism that focuses on the African-American woman's experiences and recognizes the intersectionality of racism and sexism.  Black feminism philosophy centers on the idea that "Black women are inherently va ...
and black lesbian feminist scholars ... and within the context of conferences sponsored by white feminist academics, Lorde stood out as an angry, accusatory, isolated black feminist lesbian voice". The criticism was not one-sided: many white feminists were angered by Lorde's brand of feminism. In her 1984 essay "The Master's Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master's House", Lorde attacked what she believed was underlying racism within feminism, describing it as unrecognized dependence on the
patriarchy Patriarchy is a social system in which positions of authority are primarily held by men. The term ''patriarchy'' is used both in anthropology to describe a family or clan controlled by the father or eldest male or group of males, and in fem ...
. She argued that, by denying difference in the category of women, white feminists merely furthered old systems of oppression and that, in so doing, they were preventing any real, lasting change. Her argument aligned white feminists who did not recognize race as a feminist issue with white male slave-masters, describing both as "agents of oppression".


Lorde's comments on feminism

Lorde held that the key tenets of feminism were that all forms of oppression were interrelated; creating change required taking a public stand; differences should not be used to divide; revolution is a process; feelings are a form of self-knowledge that can inform and enrich activism; and acknowledging and experiencing pain helps women to transcend it. In Lorde's "Age, Race, Class, and Sex: Women Redefining Difference", she writes: "Certainly there are very real differences between us of race, age, and sex. But it is not those differences between us that are separating us. It is rather our refusal to recognize those differences, and to examine the distortions which result from our misnaming them and their effects upon human behavior and expectation." More specifically she states: "As white women ignore their built-in privilege of whiteness and define woman in terms of their own experience alone, then women of color become 'other'." Self-identified as "a forty-nine-year-old Black lesbian feminist socialist mother of two," Lorde is considered as "other, deviant, inferior, or just plain wrong" in the eyes of the normative "white male heterosexual capitalist" social hierarchy. "We speak not of human difference, but of human deviance," she writes. In this respect, her ideology coincides with
womanism Womanism is a feminist movement, primarily championed by Black feminists, originating in the work of African American author Alice Walker in her 1983 book '' In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens''. Walker coined the term "womanist" in the short story ...
, which "allows Black women to affirm and celebrate their color and culture in a way that feminism does not." Lorde defines racism, sexism, ageism, heterosexism, elitism and classism altogether and explains that an "ism" is an idea that what is being privileged is superior and has the right to govern anything else. Lorde argues that a mythical norm is what all bodies should be. According to Lorde, the mythical norm of US culture is white, thin, male, young, heterosexual, Christian, financially secure.


Influences on black feminism

Lorde's work on
black feminism Black feminism is a branch of feminism that focuses on the African-American woman's experiences and recognizes the intersectionality of racism and sexism.  Black feminism philosophy centers on the idea that "Black women are inherently va ...
continues to be examined by scholars today.
Jennifer C. Nash File:Jennifer Christine Nash.jpg, ''A candid image of Jennifer Nash looking out of a window'' Jennifer Christine Nash (born 1980) is the Jean Fox O'Barr Professor of Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies at Duke University within its Trinity Co ...
examines how black feminists acknowledge their identities and find love for themselves through those differences.Nash, Jennifer C. "Practicing Love: Black Feminism, Love-Politics, And Post-Intersectionality." ''Meridians: Feminism, Race, Transnationalism 2'' (2011): 1. ''Literature Resource Center''. Web. December 4, 2016. Nash cites Lorde, who writes: "I urge each one of us here to reach down into that deep place of knowledge inside herself and touch that terror and loathing of any difference that lives there. See whose face it wears. Then the personal as the political can begin to illuminate all our choices." Nash explains that Lorde is urging black feminists to embrace politics rather than fear it, which will lead to an improvement in society for them. Lorde adds, "Black women sharing close ties with each other, politically or emotionally, are not the enemies of Black men. Too frequently, however, some Black men attempt to rule by fear those Black women who are more ally than enemy." Lorde's 1979 essay "Sexism: An American Disease in Blackface" is a sort of rallying cry to confront sexism in the black community in order to eradicate the violence within it. Lorde insists that the fight between black women and men must end to end racist politics. In 1981, Lorde and a fellow writer friend, Barbara Smith founded Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press which was dedicated to helping other black feminist writers by provided resources, guidance and encouragement. Lorde encouraged those around her to celebrate their differences such as race, sexuality or class instead of dwelling upon them, and wanted everyone to have similar opportunities.


Personal identity

Throughout Lorde's career she included the idea of a collective identity in many of her poems and books. She did not just identify with one category but she wanted to celebrate all parts of herself equally. She was known to describe herself as black, lesbian, political activist, feminist, poet, mother, etc. In her novel '' Zami: A New Spelling of My Name'', Lorde focuses on how her many different identities shape her life and the different experiences she has because of them. She shows us that personal identity is found within the connections between seemingly different parts of one's life, based on experiences, and that one's authority to speak comes from these experiences. Personal identity is often associated with the visual aspect of a person, but as Lies Xhonneux theorizes when identity is singled down to just what you see, some people, even within minority groups, can become invisible. Lorde's work also focused on the importance of acknowledging, respecting and celebrating our differences as well as our commonalities in defining identity. In ''The Master's Tools'', she wrote that many people choose to pretend the differences between us do not exist, or that these differences are insurmountable, adding, "Difference must be not merely tolerated, but seen as a fund of necessary polarities between which our creativity can spark like a dialectic." Lorde urged her readers to delve into and discover these differences, discussing how ignoring differences can lead to ignoring any bias and prejudice that might come with these differences, while acknowledging them can enrich our visions and our joint struggles. She wrote that we need to constructively deal with the differences between people and recognize that unity does not equal identicality. In ''I Am Your Sister'', she urged activists to take responsibility for learning this, even if it meant self-teaching, "...which might be better used in redefining ourselves and devising realistic scenarios for altering the present and constructing the future." In ''
The Cancer Journals ''The Cancer Journals'' is a 1980 book of non-fiction by Audre Lorde. It deals with her struggle with breast cancer. Summary ''The Cancer Journals'' is a 1980 book of non-fiction by poet and activist Audre Lorde. It deals with her struggle with b ...
'' she wrote "If I didn't define myself for myself, I would be crunched into other people's fantasies for me and eaten alive." She stressed the idea of personal identity being more than just what people see or think of a person, but something that must be defined by the individual, based on the person's experiences. "The House of Difference" is a phrase that originates in Lorde's identity theories. Her idea was that everyone is different from each other and it is these collective differences that make us who we are, instead of one small aspect in isolation. Focusing on all of the aspects of one's identity brings people together more than choosing one small piece to identify with. Lorde's works "Coal" and "The Black Unicorn" are two examples of poetry that encapsulates her black, feminist identity. Each poem focuses on the idea of identity, and how identity itself is not straightforward. Many Literary critics assumed that "Coal" was Lorde's way of shaping race in terms of coal and diamonds. Lorde herself stated that those interpretations were incorrect because identity was not so simply defined and her poems were not to be oversimplified. While highlighting Lorde's intersectional points through a lens that focuses on race, gender, socioeconomic status/class and so on, we must also embrace one of her salient identities; Lorde was not afraid to assert her differences, such as skin color and sexual orientation, but used her own identity against toxic black male masculinity. Lorde used those identities within her work and used her own life to teach others the importance of being different. She was not ashamed to claim her identity and used it to her own creative advantages. While highlighting Lorde's intersectional points through a lens that focuses on race, gender, socioeconomic status/class and so on, we must also embrace one of her salient identities, lesbianism. She was a lesbian and navigated spaces interlocking her womanhood, gayness and blackness in ways that trumped white feminism, predominantly white gay spaces and toxic black male masculinity. Lorde used those identities within her work and ultimately it guided her to create pieces that embodied lesbianism in a light that educated people of many social classes and identities on the issues black lesbian women face in society.


Contributions to the third-wave feminist discourse

Around the 1960s,
second-wave feminism Second-wave feminism was a period of feminist activity that began in the early 1960s and lasted roughly two decades, ending with the feminist sex wars in the early 1980s and being replaced by third-wave feminism in the early 1990s. It occurred ...
became centered around discussions and debates about capitalism as a "biased, discriminatory, and unfair" institution, especially within the context of the rise of
globalization Globalization is the process of increasing interdependence and integration among the economies, markets, societies, and cultures of different countries worldwide. This is made possible by the reduction of barriers to international trade, th ...
.
Third-wave feminism Third-wave feminism is a feminist movement that began in the early 1990s, prominent in the decades prior to the fourth-wave feminism, fourth wave. Grounded in the civil-rights advances of the second-wave feminism, second wave, Generation X, Gen X ...
emerged in the 1990s after calls for "a more differentiated feminism" by first-world women of color and women in developing nations, such as Audre Lorde, who maintained her critiques of first-world feminism for tending to veer toward "third-world homogenization". This term was coined by radical dependency theorist,
Andre Gunder Frank Andre Gunder Frank (February 24, 1929 – April 25, 2005) was a German- American sociologist and economic historian who promoted dependency theory after 1970 and world-systems theory after 1984. He employed some Marxian concepts on polit ...
, to describe the inconsideration of the unique histories of developing countries (in the process of forming development agendas). Audre Lorde was critical of the first-world feminist movement "for downplaying sexual, racial, and class differences" and the unique power structures and cultural factors which vary by region, nation, community, etc. Other feminist scholars of this period, like
Chandra Talpade Mohanty Chandra Talpade Mohanty (born 1955) is a Distinguished Professor of Women's and Gender Studies, Sociology, and the Cultural Foundations of Education and Dean's Professor of the Humanities at Syracuse University. Mohanty, a postcolonial and tra ...
, echoed Lorde's sentiments. Collectively they called for a "feminist politics of location, which theorized that women were subject to particular assemblies of oppression, and therefore that all women emerged with particular rather than generic identities". While they encouraged a global community of women, Audre Lorde, in particular, felt the
cultural homogenization Cultural homogenization is an aspect of cultural globalization, listed as one of its main characteristics, and refers to the reduction in cultural diversity through the popularization and diffusion of a wide array of cultural symbols—not onl ...
of third-world women could only lead to a disguised form of oppression with its own forms of "
othering In philosophy, the Other is a fundamental concept referring to anyone or anything perceived as distinct or different from oneself. This distinction is crucial for understanding how individuals construct their own identities, as the encounter wit ...
" women in developing nations into figures of deviance and non-actors in theories of their own development.


Essay

Originally published in ''Sister Outsider'', a collection of essays and speeches, Audre Lorde cautioned against the "institutionalized rejection of difference" in her essay, "Age, Race, Class, and Sex: Women Redefining Difference", fearing that when "we do not develop tools for using human difference as a springboard for creative change within our lives we speak not of human difference, but of human deviance". Lorde saw this already happening with the lack of inclusion of literature from women of color in the second-wave feminist discourse. Poetry, considered lesser than prose and more common among lower class and working people, was rejected from women's magazine collectives which Lorde claims have robbed "women of each other's energy and creative insight". She found that "the literature of women of Color asseldom included in women's literature courses and almost never in other literature courses, nor in women's studies as a whole" and pointed to the "othering" of women of color and women in developing nations as the reason. By homogenizing these communities and ignoring their difference, "women of Color become 'other,' the outside whose experiences and tradition is too 'alien' to comprehend", and thus, seemingly unworthy of scholarly attention and differentiated scholarship. Lorde expands on this idea of rejecting the other saying that it is a product of our capitalistic society. Psychologically, people have been trained to react to discontentment by ignoring it. When ignoring a problem does not work, they are forced to either conform or destroy. She contends that people have reacted in this matter to differences in sex, race, and gender: ignore, conform, or destroy. Instead, she states that differences should be approached with curiosity or understanding. Lorde denounces the concept of having to choose a superior and an inferior when comparing two things. In the case of people, expression, and identity, she claims that there should be a third option of equality. However, Lorde emphasizes in her essay that differences should not be squashed or unacknowledged. There is no denying the difference in experience of black women and white women, as shown through example in Lorde's essay, but Lorde fights against the premise that difference is bad. Audre Lorde called for the embracing of these differences. In the same essay, she proclaimed, "now we must recognize difference among women who are our equals, neither inferior nor superior, and devise ways to use each other's difference to enrich our visions and our joint struggles" Doing so would lead to more inclusive and thus, more effective global feminist goals. Lorde writes that women must "develop new definitions of power and new patterns of relating across difference. The old definitions have not served us". By unification, Lorde writes that women can reverse the oppression that they face and create better communities for themselves and loved ones. Lorde theorized that true development in third-world communities would and even "the future of our earth may depend upon the ability of all women to identify and develop new definitions of power and new patterns of relating across differences." In other words, the individual voices and concerns of women and color and women in developing nations would be the first step in attaining the autonomy with the potential to develop and transform their communities effectively in the age (and future) of
globalization Globalization is the process of increasing interdependence and integration among the economies, markets, societies, and cultures of different countries worldwide. This is made possible by the reduction of barriers to international trade, th ...
.


Speeches

In a keynote speech at the National Third-World Gay and Lesbian Conference on October 13, 1979, titled, "When will the ignorance end?" Lorde reminded and cautioned the attendees, "There is a wonderful diversity of groups within this conference, and a wonderful diversity between us within those groups. That diversity can be a generative force, a source of energy fueling our visions of action for the future. We must not let diversity be used to tear us apart from each other, nor from our communities that is the mistake they made about us. I do not want us to make it ourselves... and we must never forget those lessons: that we cannot separate our oppressions, nor yet are they the same" In other words, while common experiences in racism, sexism, and
homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who identify or are perceived as being lesbian, Gay men, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred, or ant ...
had brought the group together and that commonality could not be ignored, there must still be a recognition of their individualized humanity. Years later, on August 27, 1983, Audre Lorde delivered an address as part of the "Litany of Commitment" at the
March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom (commonly known as the March on Washington or the Great March on Washington) was held in Washington, D.C., on August 28, 1963. The purpose of the march was to advocate for the civil and economic righ ...
. "Today we march," she said, "lesbians and gay men and our children, standing in our own names together with all our struggling sisters and brothers here and around the world, in the Middle East, in Central America, in the Caribbean and South Africa, sharing our commitment to work for a joint livable future. We know we do not have to become copies of each other to be able to work together. We know that when we join hands across the table of our difference, our diversity gives us great power. When we can arm ourselves with the strength and vision from all of our diverse communities, then we will in truth all be free at last."


Interview

Afro-German feminist scholar and author Dr. Marion Kraft interviewed Audre Lorde in 1986 to discuss a number of her literary works and poems. In this interview, Audre Lorde articulated hope for the next wave of feminist scholarship and discourse. When asked by Kraft, "Do you see any development of the awareness about the importance of differences within the white feminist movement?" Lorde replied with both critiques and hope:
Well, the feminist movement, the white feminist movement, has been notoriously slow to recognize that racism is a feminist concern, not one that is altruistic, but one that is part and parcel of feminist consciousness... I think, in fact, though, that things are slowly changing and that there are white women now who recognize that in the interest of genuine coalition, they must see that we are not the same.
Black feminism Black feminism is a branch of feminism that focuses on the African-American woman's experiences and recognizes the intersectionality of racism and sexism.  Black feminism philosophy centers on the idea that "Black women are inherently va ...
is not white feminism in
Blackface Blackface is the practice of performers using burned cork, shoe polish, or theatrical makeup to portray a caricature of black people on stage or in entertainment. Scholarship on the origins or definition of blackface vary with some taking a glo ...
. It is an intricate movement coming out of the lives, aspirations, and realities of Black women. We share some things with white women, and there are other things we do not share. We must be able to come together around those things we share.
Miriam Kraft summarized Lorde's position when reflecting on the interview; "Yes, we have different historical, social, and cultural backgrounds, different sexual orientations; different aspirations and visions; different skin colors and ages. But we share common experiences and a common goal. Our experiences are rooted in the oppressive forces of racism in various societies, and our goal is our mutual concern to work toward 'a future which has not yet been' in Audre's words."


Lorde and womanism

Lorde's criticism of feminists of the 1960s identified issues of race, class, age, gender and sexuality. Similarly, author and poet
Alice Walker Alice Malsenior Tallulah-Kate Walker (born February 9, 1944) is an American novelist, short story writer, poet, and social activist. In 1982, she became the first African-American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, which she was awa ...
coined the term " womanist" in an attempt to distinguish black female and minority female experience from "
feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...
". While "feminism" is defined as "a collection of movements and ideologies that share a common goal: to define, establish, and achieve equal political, economic, cultural, personal, and social rights for women" by imposing simplistic opposition between "men" and "women", the theorists and activists of the 1960s and 1970s usually neglected the experiential difference caused by factors such as race and gender among different social groups.


Womanism and its ambiguity

Womanism's existence naturally opens various definitions and interpretations. Alice Walker's comments on womanism, that "womanist is to feminist as purple is to lavender", suggests that the scope of study of womanism includes and exceeds that of feminism. In its narrowest definition, womanism is the black feminist movement that was formed in response to the growth of racial stereotypes in the feminist movement. In a broad sense, however, womanism is "a social change perspective based upon the everyday problems and experiences of Black women and other women of minority demographics," but also one that "more broadly seeks methods to eradicate inequalities not just for Black women, but for all people" by imposing
socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
ideology and equality. However, because womanism is open to interpretation, one of the most common criticisms of womanism is its lack of a unified set of tenets. It is also criticized for its lack of discussion of sexuality. Lorde actively strove for the change of culture within the feminist community by implementing womanist ideology. In the journal "Anger Among Allies: Audre Lorde's 1981 Keynote Admonishing the
National Women's Studies Association The National Women's Studies Association (NWSA) is an organization founded in 1977, made up of scholars and practitioners in the field of women's studies also known as women's and gender studies, feminist studies, and related names in the 21st c ...
", it is stated that her speech contributed to communication with scholars' understanding of human biases. While "anger, marginalized communities, and US Culture" are the major themes of the speech, Lorde implemented various communication techniques to shift subjectivities of the "white feminist" audience. She further explained that "we are working in a context of oppression and threat, the cause of which is certainly not the angers which lie between us, but rather that virulent hatred leveled against all women, people of color, lesbians and gay men, poor people – against all of us who are seeking to examine the particulars of our lives as we resist our oppressions, moving towards coalition and effective action."


Womanism and sexuality

Contrary to this, Lorde was very open to her own sexuality and sexual awakening. In ''Zami: A New Spelling of My Name'', her "biomythography" (a term coined by Lorde that combines "biography" and "mythology") she writes, "Years afterward when I was grown, whenever I thought about the way I smelled that day, I would have a fantasy of my mother, her hands wiped dry from the washing, and her apron untied and laid neatly away, looking down upon me lying on the couch, and then slowly, thoroughly, our touching and caressing each other's most secret places." According to scholar Anh Hua, Lorde turns female abjection – menstruation, sexuality, and incest with the mother – into scenes of female relationship and connection. Lorde's impact on lesbian society has been significant. Lorde donated some of her manuscripts and personal papers to the
Lesbian Herstory Archives The Lesbian Herstory Archives (LHA) is a New York City-based archive, community center, and museum dedicated to preserving history of lesbianism, lesbian history, located in Park Slope, Brooklyn. The Archives contain the world's largest collection ...
.


Personal life

In 1962, Lorde married attorney Edwin Rollins, who was a white, gay man. Audre had been living openly as a lesbian since college, however due to LGBTQ+ discrimination, they both decided to remain closeted. Audre and Edwin maintained an open relationship, allowing each other to pursue same-sex relationships. She and Rollins divorced in 1970 after having two children, Elizabeth and Jonathan. In 1966, Lorde became head librarian at Town School Library in New York City, where she remained until 1968. During her time in Mississippi in 1968, she met Frances Clayton, a white lesbian and professor of psychology who became her romantic partner until 1989. They raised Lorde's children together, and they lived openly as a lesbian couple. Lorde was briefly romantically involved with the sculptor and painter Mildred Thompson after meeting her in Nigeria at the Second World Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture (
FESTAC 77 Festac '77, also known as the Second World Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture (the first festival took place in Dakar, 1966, the second in Algiers in July 1969) was a major international festival held in Lagos, Nigeria, from 15 Januar ...
). The two were involved during the time that Thompson lived in Washington, D.C. Lorde and her final life partner, black feminist Dr. Gloria Joseph, resided together on Joseph's native land of St. Croix. Lorde and Joseph had been seeing each other since 1981 , and after Lorde's liver cancer diagnosis, she officially left Clayton for Joseph, moving to St. Croix in 1986. The couple remained together until Lorde's death. Together they founded several organizations such as the Che Lumumba School for Truth, Women's Coalition of St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, Sisterhood in Support of Sisters in South Africa, and Doc Loc Apiary.


Last years

Lorde was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1978 and underwent a
mastectomy Mastectomy is the medical term for the surgical removal of one or both breasts, partially or completely. A mastectomy is usually carried out to treat breast cancer. In some cases, women believed to be at high risk of breast cancer choose to have ...
. Six years later, she found out her breast cancer had metastasized in her liver. After her first diagnosis, she wrote ''
The Cancer Journals ''The Cancer Journals'' is a 1980 book of non-fiction by Audre Lorde. It deals with her struggle with breast cancer. Summary ''The Cancer Journals'' is a 1980 book of non-fiction by poet and activist Audre Lorde. It deals with her struggle with b ...
,'' which won the
American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world. History 19th century ...
Gay Caucus Book of the Year Award in 1981. She was featured as the subject of a documentary called ''A Litany for Survival: The Life and Work of Audre Lorde,'' which shows her as an author, poet, human rights activist, feminist, lesbian, a teacher, a survivor, and a crusader against bigotry. She is quoted as saying: "What I leave behind has a life of its own. I've said this about poetry; I've said it about children. Well, in a sense I'm saying it about the very artifact of who I have been." From 1991 until her death, she was the New York State Poet laureate. When designating her as such, then-governor
Mario Cuomo Mario Matthew Cuomo ( , ; June 15, 1932 – January 1, 2015) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 52nd governor of New York for three terms, from 1983 to 1994. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic ...
said of Lorde, "Her imagination is charged by a sharp sense of racial injustice and cruelty, of sexual prejudice... She cries out against it as the voice of indignant humanity. Audre Lorde is the voice of the eloquent outsider who speaks in a language that can reach and touch people everywhere." In 1992, she received the Bill Whitehead Award for Lifetime Achievement from
Publishing Triangle The Publishing Triangle, founded in 1988 by Robin Hardy, is an American association of gay men and lesbians in the publishing industry. They sponsor an annual National Lesbian and Gay Book Month, and have sponsored the annual Triangle Awards prog ...
. In 2001, Publishing Triangle instituted the Audre Lorde Award to honour works of lesbian poetry. Lorde died of breast cancer at the age of 58 on November 17, 1992, in St. Croix, where she had been living with Gloria Joseph. In an African naming ceremony before her death, she took the name Gamba Adisa, which means "Warrior: She Who Makes Her Meaning Known".


Honors

*1979, 1983: MacDowell fellowship *1991–1992: New York State Poet laureate.


Legacy

The
Callen-Lorde Community Health Center Callen-Lorde Community Health Center is a primary care center located at 356 West 18th Street in New York City, New York, New York (state), New York, with satellite locations in Brooklyn and The Bronx. Callen-Lorde also provides comprehensive men ...
, an organization in New York City named for
Michael Callen Michael Callen (April 11, 1955 – December 27, 1993) was an American singer, songwriter, composer, author, and AIDS activist. Callen was diagnosed with AIDS in 1982 and became a pioneer of AIDS activism in New York City, working closely with ...
and Lorde, is dedicated to providing medical health care to the city's LGBT population without regard to ability to pay. Callen-Lorde is the only primary care center in New York City created specifically to serve the LGBT community. The Audre Lorde Project, founded in 1994, is a
Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
-based organization for LGBT people of color. The organization concentrates on community organizing and radical nonviolent activism around progressive issues within New York City, especially relating to LGBT communities, AIDS and HIV activism, pro-immigrant activism, prison reform, and organizing among youth of color. In June 2019, Lorde was one of the inaugural fifty American "pioneers, trailblazers, and heroes" inducted on the
National LGBTQ Wall of Honor The National LGBTQ Wall of Honor is a memorial wall in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City, dedicated to LGBTQ "pioneers, trailblazers, and heroes". Located inside the Stonewall Inn, the wall is part of the Stonewall ...
within the
Stonewall National Monument Stonewall National Monument is a U.S. national monument in the West Village neighborhood of Greenwich Village in Lower Manhattan, New York City. The designated area includes the Stonewall Inn, the Christopher Park, and nearby streets including ...
(SNM) in New York City's
Stonewall Inn The Stonewall Inn (also known as Stonewall) is a gay bar and recreational tavern at 53 Christopher Street in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It was the site of the 1969 Stonewall riots, which led to th ...
. The SNM is the first
U.S. national monument In the United States, a national monument is a protected area that can be created from any land owned or controlled by the Federal government of the United States, federal government by Presidential proclamation (United States), proclamation ...
dedicated to
LGBTQ rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Nota ...
and
history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...
, and the wall's unveiling was timed to take place during the 50th anniversary of the
Stonewall riots The Stonewall riots (also known as the Stonewall uprising, Stonewall rebellion, Stonewall revolution, or simply Stonewall) were a series of spontaneous riots and demonstrations against a police raid that took place in the early morning hours of ...
. In 2014, Lorde was inducted into the Legacy Walk, an outdoor public display in
Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
, that celebrates
LGBTQ LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, Gay men, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning (sexuality and gender), questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, Asexuality, asexual, ...
history and people. The Audre Lorde Award is an annual literary award presented by
Publishing Triangle The Publishing Triangle, founded in 1988 by Robin Hardy, is an American association of gay men and lesbians in the publishing industry. They sponsor an annual National Lesbian and Gay Book Month, and have sponsored the annual Triangle Awards prog ...
to honor works of lesbian poetry, first presented in 2001. In June 2019, Lorde's residence in Staten Island was given landmark designation by the
New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the Government of New York City, New York City agency charged with administering the city's Historic preservation, Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting Ne ...
. For their first match of March 2019, the women of the
United States women's national soccer team The United States women's national soccer team (USWNT) represents the United States in international women's soccer. The team is governed by the United States Soccer Federation and competes in CONCACAF (the Confederation of North, Central Ameri ...
each wore a jersey with the name of a woman they were honoring on the back;
Megan Rapinoe Megan Anna Rapinoe (; born July 5, 1985) is an American former professional Association football, soccer player who played as a Midfielder#Winger, winger. She spent most of her career playing for Seattle Reign FC, OL Reign of the National Wom ...
chose the name of Lorde. The archives of Audre Lorde are located across various repositories in the United States and Germany. The Audre Lorde Papers are held at
Spelman College Spelman College is a Private college, private, Historically black colleges and universities, historically black, Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia ...
Archives in Atlanta. As the description in its finding aid states "The collection includes Lorde's books, correspondence, poetry, prose, periodical contributions, manuscripts, diaries, journals, video and audio recordings, and a host of biographical and miscellaneous material." Held at John F. Kennedy Institute of North American Studies at Free University of Berlin (Freie Universität), the Audre Lorde Archive holds correspondence and teaching materials related to Lorde's teaching and visits to Freie University from 1984 to 1992. The Audre Lorde collection at
Lesbian Herstory Archives The Lesbian Herstory Archives (LHA) is a New York City-based archive, community center, and museum dedicated to preserving history of lesbianism, lesbian history, located in Park Slope, Brooklyn. The Archives contain the world's largest collection ...
in New York contains audio recordings related to the March on Washington on October 14, 1979, which dealt with the civil rights of the gay and lesbian community as well as poetry readings and speeches. In January 2021, Audre was named an official "Broad You Should Know" on the podcast ''Broads You Should Know''. On February 18, 2021, Google celebrated her 87th birthday with a
Google Doodle Google Doodle is a special, temporary alteration of the logo on Google's homepages intended to commemorate holidays, events, achievements, and historical figures. The first Google Doodle honored the 1998 edition of the long-running annual Bu ...
. On April 29, 2022, the
International Astronomical Union The International Astronomical Union (IAU; , UAI) is an international non-governmental organization (INGO) with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach, education, and developmen ...
approved the name Lorde for a crater on Mercury. On May 10, 2022, 68th Street and Lexington Avenue by Hunter College was renamed "Audre Lorde Way." In September 2023, the northern part of the Manteuffelstrasse located in
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
Kreuzberg Kreuzberg () is a district of Berlin, Germany. It is part of the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg borough located south of Berlin-Mitte, Mitte. During the Cold War era, it was one of the poorest areas of West Berlin, but since German reunification in ...
was renamed to Audre-Lorde-Straße. Lorde is the subject of a 2024 biography titled ''Survival Is a Promise'', by Alexis Pauline Gumbs.Tartici, Ayten. Celebrating Audre Lorde. A new biography is an unabashed homage to the poet known for her political commitment and community building. ''New York Times Book Review''. September 22, 2024.


Works


Poetry Books

* * * * * * * * * * * * *


Prose Books

* * * * (reissued 2007) * *


Interviews

* "Interview with Audre Lorde", in '' Against Sadomasochism: A Radical Feminist Analysis'', ed. Robin Ruth Linden (East Palo Alto, Calif.: Frog in the Well, 1982.), pp. 66–71 ,


Biographical films


''A Litany for Survival: The Life and Work of Audre Lorde (1995)''
Documentary by Michelle Parkeson.

Documentary by Jennifer Abod.

Documentary by Dagmar Schultz.


See also

*
American literature American literature is literature written or produced in the United States of America and in the British colonies that preceded it. The American literary tradition is part of the broader tradition of English-language literature, but also ...
*
Feminism in the United States Feminism is aimed at defining, establishing, and defending a state of equal political, economic, cultural, and social rights for women. It has had a massive influence on American politics. Feminism in the United States is often divided chron ...
*
List of poets portraying sexual relations between women A list is a set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of the list-maker, but ...
*
Black feminism Black feminism is a branch of feminism that focuses on the African-American woman's experiences and recognizes the intersectionality of racism and sexism.  Black feminism philosophy centers on the idea that "Black women are inherently va ...
*
Intersectionality Intersectionality is an analytical framework for understanding how groups' and individuals' social and political identities result in unique combinations of discrimination and privilege. Examples of these intersecting and overlapping factor ...
*
Afrocentrism Afrocentrism is a worldview that is centered on the history of people of African descent or a view that favors it over non-African civilizations. It is in some respects a response to Eurocentric attitudes about African people and their hist ...


Notes


References


Further reading

* * * * * * *


External links

; Profile
Profile and poems
at the
Poetry Foundation The Poetry Foundation is a United States literary society that seeks to promote poetry and lyricism in the wider culture. It was formed from ''Poetry'' magazine, which it continues to publish, with a 2003 gift of $200 million from philanthrop ...

Audre Lorde: Profile, Poems, Essays at Poets.org

"Voices From the Gaps: Audre Lorde". Profile. University of Minnesota

Profile at Modern American Poetry
; Articles and archive *
Jackie Kay Jacqueline Margaret Kay (born 9 November 1961) is a Scottish poet, playwright, and novelist, known for her works ''Other Lovers'' (1993), ''Trumpet'' (1998) and ''Red Dust Road'' (2011). Kay has won many awards, including the Somerset Maugham A ...

"The enemy of silence"
''The Guardian'', October 13, 2008

''New York Times'', November 20, 1992
About the Audre Lorde Papers
held by the
Spelman College Spelman College is a Private college, private, Historically black colleges and universities, historically black, Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia ...
Archives * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lorde, Audre 1934 births 1992 deaths 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American poets 20th-century American women writers African-American Catholics American Book Award winners American civil rights activists American feminist writers American lesbian writers American LGBTQ novelists American LGBTQ poets American librarians American socialists American people of Barbadian descent American people of Carriacouan descent American people of United States Virgin Islands descent American women librarians American women novelists American women poets Black Arts Movement writers Columbia University School of Library Service alumni Deaths from cancer in the United States Virgin Islands Deaths from liver cancer Feminist studies scholars Feminist theorists Hunter College alumni Hunter College High School alumni John Jay College of Criminal Justice faculty Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Poetry winners Lehman College faculty Lesbian academics Lesbian feminists Lesbian memoirists Lesbian poets Lesbian novelists African-American LGBTQ people LGBTQ people from New York (state) American LGBTQ rights activists LGBTQ Roman Catholics Novelists from New York (state) Poets laureate of New York (state) Radical feminists Roman Catholic activists American women civil rights activists National Autonomous University of Mexico alumni African-American lesbian writers