By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
‘What My Child Learns of the Sea’ is a 1963 poem by the African-American poet Audre Lorde (1934-92), which was later included in her 1968 collection The First Cities. Lorde was a self-described ‘Black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet.’
Lorde wrote ‘What My Child Learns of the Sea’ when her daughter, Elizabeth, was just one year old. Let’s summarise the poem’s content before offering an analysis of its meaning.
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
‘A Woman Speaks’ is a poem by the African-American poet Audre Lorde (1934-92), published in her 1978 collection The Black Unicorn. Lorde was a self-described ‘Black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet.’ In the poem, a Black woman addresses society and warns that she has not forgotten the powerful magic of her African ancestors, nor the fury she feels about society’s failure to deliver on its promise of a better future for women of colour.
‘A Litany for Survival’ is a 1978 poem by the American poet Audre Lorde (1934-92). Lorde was a self-described ‘Black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet.’ In the poem, Lorde addresses other people who are voiceless and marginalised in society, observing that fear rules their lives but it is better to speak up and use one’s voice rather than remain silent.
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
The African-American poet Audre Lorde (1934-92) was a self-described ‘Black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet.’ Her poetry was often openly political and was intended to help other women – and in particular Black American women – to connect with each other through a kind of shared experience.
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
‘Poetry Is Not a Luxury’ is a 1977 essay by the American poet Audre Lorde (1934-92). In the essay, Lorde argues that poetry is a necessity for women, as it puts them in touch with old feelings and ways of knowing which they have long forgotten. Poetry also offers women a way to bring those feelings to light again and to share them with others.