Sister Outsider

Book, 1984

Premise - A collection of essays and speeches by Audre Lorde made between 1976 and 1983, before its publication in 1984. Audre Lorde was a revolutionary poet, as well as a black lesbian feminist socialist public speaker and writer. In these works of prose, she discusses topics of sexism, racism, heterosexism, classism, ageism, and the pain, suffering, and anger that results from each and all. She advocates instead for a world of bridged gaps and understanding.

Review - Audre Lord's inner poet is showing. These are works of prose, but her thoughts and ideas are inseparable from her poetry. That much was obvious. Therefore, a lot of her essays and speeches were a bit more abstract, much like poetry. A lot of what she was articulating sounded beautiful, but was difficult to picture exactly what she meant in terms of real-life practical interactions, goals, or policies. That's not a fault of hers though, that was probably her point - to access the emotional, the erotic, the passion in people, and not put so much preference on the rational thinking man.

It does make it difficult to write up a review though, in that case. Because when I agreed with her, I felt it on a poetic and spiritual level, and I can't truly articulate how. Though when I disagreed, I couldn't exactly make a rational argument against her either. It was all emotional. There was an interview between her and another woman that was incredibly interesting to read, but I don't know if it accomplished anything, for that reason. You can't really argue against anything Audre Lorde says because it's on another plane of reasoning - a much more indescribable, emotional one.

I read through this book incredibly quickly and I took a lot from it. Her perspectives on anger were of particular interest to me. Anger is an incredibly distressing emotion for both the subject and the object of the anger. I find it incredibly important to express one's emotions for that very sake, but beyond that I never found any constructive "use" for anger, though reading this may have changed my mind. It's still difficult though, because I still wouldn't advocate for indulging in anger, so to speak.

Audre Lorde was discriminated against and considered a minority in pretty much every way - race, gender, sexuality, perhaps career and class... so she is the ultimate reference point for discussing the importance of intersectionalism. The types of prejudice she faces are inseparable from one another and stem from the same elitist hatred. To be truly feminist, is also to be anti-racist, and so on. (77/100).

Quotes - "When you find people who start from a position where human beings are at the core, as opposed to a position where profit is at the core, the solutions can be very different."

"There are no new ideas. There are only new ways of making them felt."

"Difference must not be merely tolerated, but seen as a fund of necessary polarities between which our creativity can spark like a dialectic."

"Divide and conquer must become define and empower."

"In a society where the good is defined in terms of profit rather than in terms of human need, there must always be some group of people who, through systematized oppression, can be made to feel surplus, to occupy the place of the dehumanized inferior."

"Anger - a passion of displeasure that may be excessive or misplaced but not necessarily harmful. Hatred - an emotional habit or attitude of mind in which aversion is coupled with ill will. Anger, used, does not destroy. Hatred does."

"Hatred is a deathwish for the hated, not a lifewish for anything else."

"Old King Mithridates learned to eat arsenic bit by bit and so outwitted his poisoners, but I'd have hated to kiss him upon his lips!"

What to look for - The essays that are important for the theme of "Our Shared Shelf" were the ones discussing anger. That's why I read this before trying the others, because I knew this was sort of like prerequisite reading. Of course, I think I enjoyed "Poetry is Not a Luxury" and "Uses of the Erotic" a lot. I can't recall which I enjoyed the most because I read them all in quick succession.

If you liked this book, I'd recommend the two other "Our Shared Shelf" picks that came with it that month, which were Good and Mad and Eloquent Rage! Though I have yet to read those... Of what I have read, I'd recommend Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race.

Collection of essays and speeches by Audre Lorde
Published by Ten Speed Press