Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches (Crossing Press Feminist Series)

Reading Audre Lorde in 2017 is both a revelation and a tragedy. A revelation because her writing is fresh, her language incomparable, her ideas transgressive, and her suggestions helpful and full of light. A tragedy because so little has changed since late 1970s-early 1980s for women, for people of color, for the 99-ers, in the school to prison pipeline, in the patterns of privilege, in the violence, in the internalized misogyny and racism. Audre Lorde was, truly, as great and passionate a critic of modernity as James Baldwin, and I sincerely hope that she gets the audience, too, albeit posthumously.What a great woman!

Audre Lorde was timeless... She wrote about the things we rarely talk about but should. The things we try to smother with fake smiles and conversation void of substance. I applaud her bravery, because she's paved the way for other women in her very shoes to write about what they fear, and what makes them angry. Her words reverberate and nudge you out of your comfort zone. Great, great book.

4.5 A work I'm glad to have read in its entirety, after only having read selected essays. "The Uses of Anger", "Uses of the Erotic", "Poetry is Not a Luxury" (esp for me, so alienated from poetry) in particular will stay with me for a long time. Sad to see how so many of these issues, especially regarding the relationship between white women and black women, have seemingly not progressed one bit.

ReviewSister Outsider by Audre LordeAudre Lorde was a fierce feminist poet. Not fitting neatly into any minority group, she is a force to reckon with. She leaves behind a legacy, priceless but valuable lessons in her essays and poetry. Sister Outsider proved she stood her ground and fought with eloquence, addressing sexism, racism, ageism, homophobia, social differences and classism. She left us hopeful, that we can achieve what she and others before her fought and even died for. We are our sisters keeper.

As a Black female living in America, I could relate to a lot of what she said and she raised a lot of important points. Most importantly, she made me think. I enjoyed reading it. Unfortunately, there were a few parts that I had trouble understanding so I need to read it again, but the book is very fantastic. She wrote wonderful letters, speeches, and essays. I'm looking forward to reading her poems. 'Definitely recommended.

Audre Lorde was an extrordinary poet and essayist, who looked deeply into both herself and society. Because she was black, lesbian, and a woman, she gives us a lens – both ferocious and loving – to see how we see the Other.Her insight and honesty are a challenge to anyone reading this book. For example, she knows from herself and her experience, how anger that originates in oppression and brutality, can be transmuted into the nastiness that black women may show for each other. Likewise, as a mother of a boy, she anatomizes the "letting go" that any parent must do as as a child grows, along with the particular challenges of a lesbian woman in relation to a male child.Most powerful are the last two essays. "Eye to Eye" is an extended meditation on how we see each other, but through the eyes of a black woman, seeing first of all other black women. Although most of the collection is in this vein, the last essay is a no-holds-barred treatment of American imperialism, as she revisits Grenada, her mother's birthplace, in the aftermath of the American invasion in 1983.Lorde died of cancer in 1992. She was our Sister Outsider then, was a touchstone for Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison, and is today for activists such as Angela Davis and Valarie Kaur.

This collection of prose by Audre Lorde is well worth reading though it is certainly dated in a literal sense. That is, these pieces date back to the 1970s and 1980s or earlier and refer to specific events and conditions of those times. But what’s both fresh and disappointing about her work is how little things have changed. I am glad I read this but wish the rage she articulates didn’t resonate so strongly decades later.

I was surprised and pleased that this book came with a different cover than the green one with the line drawing - mine has a portrait of Lorde which is beautiful. Regarding the content, these essays slapped me in the face. I have read very little feminist thought and this was a wake up call that I need to educate myself more on that front. I loved Lorde's writing style, her astute observations, and I plan to read more from her in the future.

I'm ashamed that this was never presented to me as a growing woman. Nonetheless, I've found it on my own and can say that the writings of Audre Lorde are truly transformative. Every woman, regardless of their orientation or color, should read this collection of essays and thoughts from this talented feminist and poet.

Read everything you possibly can by Audre Lorde. This collection is essential reading. Her autobiography Zami is another good one.

Absolutely amazing. Witty and down to earth. Deeply insightful and inspirational.

Engrossing.

I'm a Audre Lorde fan... I have read it before and still learned more second time around.Superb intelligent writer and philosopher