Day 14: Audre Lorde – Poetry of Resistance.
Speaking Truth to Power
Dr. Audre Lorde, Poet Laureate of New York State, gave the world language for survival. A self-described “Black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet,” she used her words to expose oppression, ignite courage, and nurture collective power. For her, poetry was never a luxury but a lifeline, a way to transform silence into truth.
In works like Sister Outsider and The Cancer Journals Lorde revealed how silence protects only the systems of domination. She declared, “Your silence will not protect you.” Her poetry and essays spoke of race, gender, sexuality, and class as interwoven struggles, long before the word intersectionality became common. Lorde urged readers to confront the fear that keeps them quiet, teaching that language itself is a tool of liberation.
Righteous Anger
Beyond her writing, Lorde’s activism reshaped the landscape of Black feminism and queer liberation. She co-founded Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press with fellow feminist and literary icon Barbara Smith, ensuring that Black feminists and lesbians of color could publish and share their work on their own terms. Through community-based organizing, teaching, and international solidarity work, Lorde emphasized that difference is not to be feared but embraced as a source of collective strength.
“My anger has meant pain to me but it has also meant survival, and before I give it up I’m going to be sure that there is something at least as powerful to replace it.” – Audre Lorde, The Uses of Anger
Legacy of Radical Love
Even while facing illness, Lorde modeled resilience and truth-telling. In The Cancer Journals, she chronicled her battle with breast cancer with raw honesty and grace, refusing to let her experience be erased or sanitized. She reminded the world that resistance is not optional, it is the very act of survival, and survival itself can be revolutionary.
Forged in fire and truth, Audre Lorde’s words endure as a guiding flame for all who labor toward justice, healing, and transformation.
Learn More
- Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde – a collection of Lorde’s quintessential essays and speeches
- The Uses of Anger by Audre Lord – the complete essay
- The Cancer Journals by Audre Lorde
- The Audre Lorde Project – The Audre Lorde Project is a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Two Spirit, Trans and Gender Non Conforming People of Color center for community organizing, focusing on the New York City area.
- A Burst of Light – Essays by Audre Lorde
- The Berlin Years: 1984–1992 (documentary)
- How Kitchen Table Press Changed Publishing by JSTOR, nonprofit library for the intellectually curious
View All of This Month’s Daily Posts
More 2025/26 Celebrating Diversity
For more information and access to other events, sign our Guestbook!