Quotes & anectdotes from
the wise,
the foolish,
the courageous &
the drunk

Audre Lorde Novelist

  • Gender: Female
  • Citizenship: United States
  • Born: Feb 18, 1934
  • Died: Nov 17, 1992

Audre Lorde was a Caribbean-American writer, radical feminist, womanist, lesbian, and civil rights activist. Lorde served as an inspiration to women worldwide, one of her most notable efforts being her activist work with Afro-German women in the 1980s. Her identity as a black lesbian gave her work a novel perspective and put her in a unique position to speak on issues surrounding civil rights, feminism, and oppression. Her work gained both wide acclaim and wide criticism, due to the elements of social liberalism and sexuality presented in her work and her emphasis on revolution and change. She died of breast cancer in 1992, at the age of 58.

I can't really define it in sexual terms alone although our sexuality is so energizing why not enjoy it too?

being alone

When I dare to be powerful - to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.

strength

I am deliberate and afraid of nothing.

inspirational

Only by learning to live in harmony with your contradictions can you keep it all afloat.

learning

Black women sharing close ties with each other, politically or emotionally, are not the enemies of Black men.

women

The learning process is something you can incite, literally incite, like a riot.

learning

When I use my strength in the service of my vision it makes no difference whether or not I am afraid.

strength

Art is not living. It is the use of living.

art

But the true feminist deals out of a lesbian consciousness whether or not she ever sleeps with women.

women