TITLE

Praise the Lorde

AUTHOR(S)

Walker, Rebecca

PUB. DATE

June 2004

SOURCE

Advocate;6/22/2004, Issue 917, p178

SOURCE TYPE

Periodical

DOC. TYPE

Book

ABSTRACT

The article reflects on the life and work of poet Audre Lorde, and her biography Warrior Poet by Alexis De Veaux. Perhaps best known for her theory of difference, Lorde articulated for a generation the psychic and political necessity of celebrating and not denying one's multiple identities. As a self-defined black, lesbian, feminist, mother, poet warrior, she demanded that the women's movement be held accountable for its racism and homophobia and that the civil rights movement be at least cognizant of the ongoing oppression of gays and lesbians. Due to her West Indian ancestry and extensive world travel, Lorde was also able to contextualize U.S. struggles for equality within a global movement against tyranny of all kinds. But Lorde was even more complex than that. For many years she was also a wife in an interracial marriage to a white gay man and an unapologetic bisexual polyamorist, maintaining at least two intimate relationships at any given time. Unlike many artists who felt that political themes could invalidate the universal in their work, Lorde saw no contradiction in making art that was both political and deeply human. Veaux's nuanced and insightful biography, Warrior Poet, is an important contribution to Lorde's legacy, and takes the next step in the ongoing attempt to canonize her achievements within the annals of U.S. letters. It is part traditional biography, part U.S. history seminar, and part intimate portrait of a driven master artist.

ACCESSION #

13466256

Tags: LORDE, Audre;  WOMEN poets;  LIFE;  WOMEN political activists;  WARRIOR Poet (Book)

 

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