Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches

Audre Lorde’s Sister Outsider, perhaps her most seminal work, contains essays and speeches recorded at the height of her powers. As a Black Lesbian feminist poet, mother, and person in a biracial relationship, she had a lot to say about a lot of things. Her honesty and eloquence were unparalleled. Her poetry was fearless. She served as a spokesperson on behalf of oppressed people, and was much beloved—and often feared. She held herself up to the same high standards of scrutiny that she did her contemporaries. Her untimely death to breast cancer (which she chronicled in her book «Cancel Journals ») created torrential grief in her communities and far beyond. A street near Hunter college in New York City now bears her name. Sister Outsider, however, is not an easy book to read. Aside from being intellectually brilliant and unassailable in terms of the airtight arguments Lorde presents, Sister Outsider is somewhat harsh and relentless. It is easier read piecemeal in small portions because it is presented at such a pitch that the reader can quickly be overwhelmed. Of course, her essay « Poetry is Not a Luxury » first published in 1977 in Chrysalis, despite its seriousness, is a joy to read. It is surprisingly fresh and completely relevant. This could be one of those timeless essays that will never become passé. As art is always on the chopping block, its efficacy perpetually debated, it would be a great text to memorize and quote at will when needed. It is often needed. Another highlight for me in this book is her « Open Letter to Mary Daly, » criticizing the radical feminist’s book, Gyn/Ecology for its treatment of female circumcision, which did not recognize or consult the black feminist perspective. This microaggressive erasure was further aggravated by the fact that Daly never replied to Lorde’s letter voicing her objections, before it even became an open letter. Despite the letter’s friendly tone and patina of graciousness, Lorde basically « tore Daly a new one. » The classic interview between Audre and her good friend Adrienne Rich is a total gem. Their repartee rings authentic and neither of them skirt around uncomfortable issues, but rather face them head on in a noncombatant, pacific manner. Equally brilliant are the essays on the erotic in poetry, citing the creation of poetry as a primal force; and « The Master’s Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master’s House, » of which title speaks for itself. The final essay involves the US invasion of Grenada, the birthplace and home of Audrey Lord’s mother. This essay is so moving probably because of personal connection to it. However, her analysis of historical precedents and her willingness to expose the rotten teeth of the US technomilitary complex as it relates to a history rife with racist, is stunningly courageous. In this last essay, she never misses a beat, connecting the dots between the US’s paternalistic involvement (and financial entanglements) in South America and its island possessions. Grenada, prior to the invasion of American and British forces, was an independent entity, governed by an all black leadership. The carnage left behind after said invasion was brutal, unnecessary and totally racist. And that’s what makes Audre Lorde’s work, so hard to take at times because of its blatant and unrelenting insistence on telling the truth, a blueprint for students of the peace and justice movement, scholars, and revolutionaries to this day.

This is much more than a book, a collection of writings. It's an experience more like surviving a traumatic event, seeing a deep and distressing movie or having a long and difficult talk with someone who has been oppressed from all sides. It accomplishes that which no other book I have ever read has done. Aside from the profound personal impact it has had on me, it details a horror story of a life lived with incomparable insight into humanity as well as with courage which faces that horror every day. I bought and read the book based on the other reviews above. They are all correct, but the praise this book deserves is understated. It may well be the greatest book of psychological insight and advice ever written. Only Dostoevsky's works compare. Lorde defies all the labels she and others use to describe her. This is the most human of all books because it stares the weaknesses we all share right in the face and finds ways to fight if not conquer them as well as pointing out strategies that are counterproductive. Lorde allows the reader to get inside her skin like no other writer, and for the first time ever, made me feel the anger, terror, fear, helplessness I have sensed in many if not all black people. And yet her greatest criticisms are not of whites, but especially of her black sisters and then her brothers. She clearly does not set herself apart because she knows she has had "my boot on a sister's face". Richard Adams wrote a story called "The Hole in the Sky". Most people never see it, but this book describes best of all what makes up that hole and what it feels like to see it.

Audre Lorde was an extrordinary poet and essayist, who looked deeply into both herself and society. Because she was black, lesbian, and a woman, she gives us a lens – both ferocious and loving – to see how we see the Other. Her insight and honesty are a challenge to anyone reading this book. For example, she knows from herself and her experience, how anger that originates in oppression and brutality, can be transmuted into the nastiness that black women may show for each other. Likewise, as a mother of a boy, she anatomizes the "letting go" that any parent must do as as a child grows, along with the particular challenges of a lesbian woman in relation to a male child. Most powerful are the last two essays. "Eye to Eye" is an extended meditation on how we see each other, but through the eyes of a black woman, seeing first of all other black women. Although most of the collection is in this vein, the last essay is a no-holds-barred treatment of American imperialism, as she revisits Grenada, her mother's birthplace, in the aftermath of the American invasion in 1983. Lorde died of cancer in 1992. She was our Sister Outsider then, was a touchstone for Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison, and is today for activists such as Angela Davis and Valarie Kaur.

Reading this felt like being challenged and cared for at the same time. Lorde's essays pushed me to think deeper about identity, power, and the courage it takes to speak honestly and left me feeling more aware, more accountable, and more awake. Recommend reading for : Everyone! Reading level: YA, Adult Likely to re-read: Yes, absolutely Themes: Feminism, Race, Queer, Lesbian, LGBTQIA+, Activism

This is my first foray into Lorde’s writing as I don’t typically read poetry. That being said, Lorde’s writing is gorgeous, visceral, and still holds so much truth even close to 40 years after “Sister Outsider” was originally published. That’s really why I wanted to read this, to better understand and educate myself on racism and sexism in a way that I, as a white woman, don’t experience and don’t see the way that black women do, or lesbian POC would experience. I learned so much from this collection of essays and interviews, both about feminism and racism. It took me much longer to get through this relatively short book because I often had to sit with what I just read, to really digest it and hear what Lorde had to say, which is written with incredible passion. But it also took me awhile to finish because the organization of the different essays wasn’t well thought out, and the different essays got a little repetitive. Even though I haven’t read any of Lorde’s work before this, I don’t think it’s completely necessary, either. Will you have a deeper appreciation for some of the included speeches in this book if you are already familiar with Lorde’s work? Absolutely! But not having that doesn’t take away from the message in these essays, nor does it diminish the impassioned way Lorde writes. That being said, it’s hard to say which of the collection was my favorite in this book. I think Lorde’s writing in the later essays in this book struck me the hardest, like The Uses of Anger, Learning from the 60’s, and Eye to Eye, mainly because Lorde’s passion, rage, and despair are so clear-eyed in those essays. This book requires a lot of brain power to read, which isn’t a bad thing at all, but just know ahead of time that this is a book that demands your full attention for every line of every page, and if you don’t give it that, you’ll have a harder time understanding things. Lorde states her views clearly and powerfully about intersectionality before it really was a thing, but inevitably because this is a collection of independent work, there is repetition and disjointedness between the different essays. That's the only reason why this gets 4 stars from me instead of 5. If you’re looking for a book on feminism and social justice, Lorde’s words are still a must read!

I'd been wanting to read Audre Lorde. I recommend this book because it's an essay collection that gives a great overview of her thoughts and writings. The work is relevant because we see today the repercussions that she witnessed and foresaw with the economic fiasco ushered in by the Reagan administration. Don't skip the last chapter about Grenada. It's a textbook lesson on U S foreign policy.

I was surprised and pleased that this book came with a different cover than the green one with the line drawing - mine has a portrait of Lorde which is beautiful. Regarding the content, these essays slapped me in the face. I have read very little feminist thought and this was a wake up call that I need to educate myself more on that front. I loved Lorde's writing style, her astute observations, and I plan to read more from her in the future.

I cannot offer high enough praise for this work. It is an amazing collection. The pieces are thought-provoking, deeply moving, inspiring and so well written. The insights it offers are not to missed. I couldn't stop talking about the book and the author and the important things she has to say. The impact is formed and heightened by the beautiful poetic composition and the direct and fearless way Lorde speaks. This book is beautiful, but it is also important, and worthwhile.

Un livre à lire, il nous fait nous interroger, entrer en discussion avec nous-mêmes et avec l'auteur à travers ses écrits.

El mejor libro que he leído

This is still speaks and is relevant. A brave soul who tries to live her life truthfully and open our eyes to do the same.

Excelente entrega, produto ótimo.

Audre Lorde es una brutal autora de teoría feminista. Definitivamente, si te interesa esta parte teórica, cualquier libro de ella es recomendable. La edición está linda, fácil de leer, es un libro ligero (de peso.. lo que lo hace fácil para llevarlo en la bolsa o mochila).