Audre Lorde (1934–1992)
Lorde described herself as a "Black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet" and spent her career turning that intersection into a source of power rather than a category of oppression. Her poetry is precise and ferocious. Her essays, collected in Sister Outsider, argue that silence in the face of injustice is a form of complicity. She fought cancer publicly, wrote about it honestly, and insisted throughout that the personal and the political are never separable.
Concepts
agency, authenticity, freedom, love, meaning, oppression, rebellion, solidarity
Quotes (6)
- “Your silence will not protect you.” — Sister Outsider (1984)
- “When I dare to be powerful, to use my strength in the service of my vision, t...” — The Cancer Journals (1980)
- “Without community, there is no liberation, only the most vulnerable and tempo...” — Sister Outsider (1984)
- “The sharing of joy, whether physical, emotional, psychic, or intellectual, fo...” — Uses of the Erotic (1978)
- “If I didn't define myself for myself, I would be crunched into other people's...” — Sister Outsider (1984)
- “The master's tools will never dismantle the master's house.” — Sister Outsider (1984)