Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches (Commemorative Edition)

by Audre Lorde, Cheryl Clarke (Foreword by)

Overview

Presenting the essential writings of black lesbian poet and feminist writer Audre Lorde, Sister Outsider celebrates an influential voice in twentieth-century literature.

“[Lorde's] works will be important to those truly interested in growing up sensitive, intelligent, and aware.”—The New York Times 

In this charged collection of fifteen essays and speeches, Lorde takes on sexism, racism, ageism, homophobia, and class, and propounds social difference as a vehicle for action and change. Her prose is incisive, unflinching, and lyrical, reflecting struggle but ultimately offering messages of hope. This commemorative edition includes a new foreword by Lorde-scholar and poet Cheryl Clarke, who celebrates the ways in which Lorde's philosophies resonate more than twenty years after they were first published.

These landmark writings are, in Lorde's own words, a call to “never close our eyes to the terror, to the chaos which is Black which is creative which is female which is dark which is rejected which is messy which is . . . ”

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781580911863
Publisher:	Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed
Publication date:	08/01/2007
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	5.80(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

A writer, activist, and mother of two, Audre Lorde grew up in 1930s Harlem. She earned a master’s degree in library science from Columbia University, received a National Endowment for the Arts grant for poetry, and was New York State’s Poet Laureate from 1991 to 1993. She is the author of twelve books, including Zami and The Black Unicorn. Lorde died of cancer at the age of fifty-eight in 1992.

Read an Excerpt

Scratching the Surface: Some Notes on Barriers to Women and Loving
(Continues…)

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Excerpted from "Sister Outsider"
by .
Copyright © 2007 Audre Lorde.
Excerpted by permission of Potter/Ten Speed/Harmony/Rodale.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Editorial Reviews

An eye-opener”—Publishers Weekly

“[Sister Outsider is] another indication of the depth of analysis that black women writers are contributing to feminist thought.”—Barbara Christian, PhD, author of Black Feminist Criticism: Perspectives on Black Women Writers

From the Publisher

A lot has changed since this collection of essays and speeches was published more than 20 years ago, but this commemorative audio edition also is a reminder of how much has stayed the same. Black poet and lesbian activist Lorde addresses fundamental issues related to race, gender, sexual orientation, and politics. Robin Eller’s narration embodies the quiet sense of urgency and intensity of many of the pieces. Eller expresses the empathy of the author as well as her deep frustration and anger on specific topics. Eller’s conversational tone supports the accessibility of Lorde’s ideas, whether presented in a brief letter to a white radical feminist, in informal notes on a trip, or in formal essays. J.E.M. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine

JULY 2016 - AudioFile