Audre Lorde was a groundbreaking poet, author, and activist who used her writing to highlight her experiences as a Black lesbian woman, a mother, and someone battling cancer. As a prominent voice in both the women’s rights and LGBTQ movements, she was passionate about exploring identity and advocating for solidarity across different communities.
Born Audre Geraldine Lorde on February 18, 1934, in New York City to Grenadian immigrants Frederic and Linda Belmar Lorde, she was the youngest of three sisters. From a young age, Lorde was drawn to poetry, once sharing that she “used to speak in poetry” before she could even fully express her feelings in words. Her early love for writing led to her first poem being published in Seventeen magazine at the age of 16 after her English teacher rejected it.
Lorde went on to study at Hunter College, later earning a master’s degree in library science from Columbia University. She worked as a librarian in New York City public schools while also making waves in the poetry scene. During the ’60s, Lorde became involved in civil rights, antiwar protests, and the women’s liberation movement, publishing her first poetry collection The First Cities in 1968.
Her work began to take a more political turn, especially with her 1970 collection Cables to Rage, where she addressed racism, sexism, and violence, as well as her identity as a lesbian. Lorde’s third collection, From a Land Where Other People Live, was nominated for a National Book Award and further cemented her as a fierce advocate for racial and gender justice. Her poetry unapologetically explored the intersections of race, gender, and sexuality, and she often used her own life experiences as the backdrop for her writing.
In 1978, Lorde’s collection The Black Unicorn reflected on her spiritual and personal connections to African mythology, drawing strength from a trip to Benin. She also wrote Zami: A New Spelling of My Name in 1982, a memoir that blends history, biography, and myth to trace her journey as a Black lesbian. It’s considered one of her most important works, offering insight into her path of self-acceptance.
Lorde’s 1984 collection Sister Outsider is best known for her essay “The Master’s Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master’s House,” where she challenged feminists to embrace differences among women as sources of strength, not division.
In 1977, Lorde was diagnosed with breast cancer, and her struggles with illness became a powerful part of her activism. In The Cancer Journals (1980), she shared her raw experiences with cancer and mastectomy, writing from the perspective of a Black lesbian woman who felt that the dominant narratives of illness did not speak to her community. Her candid reflections not only resonated with many but also sparked a broader conversation about illness and identity, winning the American Library Association’s Gay Caucus Book of the Year Award in 1981.
Beyond her literary career, Lorde was deeply involved in advocacy. She was a key speaker at the 1979 National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights, co-founded Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press in 1981 to promote the work of feminist writers of color, and worked with organizations like Sisterhood in Support of Sisters in South Africa, which fought against apartheid.
Lorde’s academic career included teaching English at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and Hunter College. She received numerous awards and honors, including the 1990 Bill Whitehead Memorial Award and the 1991 Walt Whitman Citation of Merit, which named her Poet Laureate of New York. She also earned honorary doctorates from several colleges and received the Before Columbus Foundation National Book Award for A Burst of Light in 1988.
In the last years of her life, as her cancer returned, Lorde continued to work and inspire. Before passing in 1992, she participated in an African naming ceremony, where she was given the name Gamba Adisa, which means “Warrior: She Who Makes Her Meaning Known.” It was a fitting name for someone who spent her life boldly defining her own identity and speaking truth to power. Lorde’s legacy lives on through her powerful writings, her activism, and the Audre Lorde Award for lesbian poetry, established in her honor.
