Warrior Poet: a Biography of Audre Lorde.Warrior Poet: A Biography of Audre Lorde “Lorde” redirects here. For the feudal rank, see Lord. Audre Geraldine Lorde (February 18, 1934 in Harlem, New York City - November 17, 1992) was a writer, poet and activist. by Alexis De Veaux W.W. Norton & Company, March 2004 $29.95, ISBN-0-393-01954-3 This first biography of Audre Lorde, who famously defined herself as "a black feminist lesbian mother poet," attempts to humanize hu·man·ize tr.v. hu·man·ized, hu·man·iz·ing, hu·man·iz·es 1. To portray or endow with human characteristics or attributes; make human: humanized the puppets with great skill. 2. as well as demystify de·mys·ti·fy tr.v. de·mys·ti·fied, de·mys·ti·fy·ing, de·mys·ti·fies To make less mysterious; clarify: an autobiography that demystified the career of an eminent physician. the iconic figure. "Her multiple identities both troubled and parted the waters as she 'held the world by the tail and tried to change it;" writes author Alexis De Veaux. De Veaux conducted interviews with Lorde's siblings, children, three significant life partners, and many lovers and friends. She also had access to unpublished journals, which provide great insight into Lorde's process. The book's tone is fairly reserved and academic one gets the sense that De Veaux has almost subordinated her own writing style or ideas in deference to what Lorde herself might have wanted written. But perhaps it's filling that Warrior Poet lays such a straightforward path, a cleat framework to serve as a jumping off point for future analyses and biographies. The bulk of the book, which is divided into two parts, covers her parents, bet childhood, adolescence and coming of age as poet, lesbian, and public figure--what De Veaux calls her "first life," defined by themes of "escape, freedom and self actualization Self-actualization is a term that has been used by various organismic psychology theories, often in slightly different ways (e.g., Goldstein, Maslow, Rogers). The term was originally introduced by the organismic theorist, Kurt Goldstein, for the motive to realize all of one's ." The "second life," covered in one brief chapter and an epilogue, starts in 1978 with her diagnosis of breast cancer and subsequent mastectomy mastectomy (măstĕk`təmē), surgical removal of breast tissue, usually done as treatment for breast cancer. There are many types of mastectomy. In general, the farther the cancer has spread, the more tissue is taken. , ending in 1986 with her move to St. Croix to live with Gloria Joseph. Despite the author's efforts to reveal Lorde's fragilities--her sometimes capricious capricious adv., adj. unpredictable and subject to whim, often used to refer to judges and judicial decisions which do not follow the law, logic or proper trial procedure. A semi-polite way of saying a judge is inconsistent or erratic. wrath, egotism Egotism See also Arrogance, Conceit, Individualism. Baxter, Ted TV anchorman who sees himself as most important news topic. [TV: “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” in Terrace, II, 70] cat , paranoid fear of obscurity and her well-founded dread of recurring cancer--she still emerges as a kind of 20th-century black goddess. The allure of Lorde's erotic sell (or selves) and the way she crafted language to do her bidding hum underneath the rather uncomplicated text. Her politics of difference still resonates. The sexism of black men, the racism of white women, the homophobia of black women--all still need to be discussed, argued and dismantled. Ultimately, Lorde's voice is no less relevant in this new century.--Holly Bass Holly Bass is a writer and performer based in Washington, D.C. |
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