Yesterday I finished Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde, my first book-length read by the author. Lorde first caught my attention when I read “Uses of the Erotic” in college, and her uniquely poetic prose has stuck with me since. Sister Outsider is incredible in that it is a very approachable text which still manages to catapult you into the heart of racism, sexism, and intersectionality. Some of what I found to be the most potent excerpts are “Poetry is Not a Luxury”, “Uses of the Erotic”, “Age, Race, Class, and Sex: Women Redefining Difference”, and “Eye to Eye: Black Women, Hatred, and Anger.” Lorde’s ability to always be herself, that is, a poet, critic, philosopher, and educator, is something that makes her writing fresh, exciting, and embodied, even 40 years later. Audre Lorde’s style, experience, and perspective is worth so much more than your time.
