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Audre Lorde

オードリー・ロード

Oodori Roodo

Aliases: Audrey Geraldine Lorde
Pen Names: Audre Lorde（Professional name; she dropped the 'y' from 'Audrey' in childhood and used 'Audre Lorde'.）, Gamba Adisa（African naming ceremony name taken before death (meaning: Warrior).）

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1934-02-18 （New York City, United States）
Died
1992-11-17 （Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands） age 58
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Religion
Catholic
Residence History
Harlem, New York City → Greenwich Village, New York City → Staten Island, New York City → Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands → Berlin (West Berlin), Germany

Career

Occupations
Writer, Poet, Activist, Librarian, Professor
Active Years
1950-1992
Affiliations
Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press (co-founder), Women's Institute for Freedom of the Press (associate), Various women's support organizations (founder/supporter), City University of New York (faculty: John Jay, Hunter College, Lehman College)
Influenced By
Diane di Prima (classmate, poet), Harlem poets and the Black literary tradition, Civil rights and feminist movements
Influenced
May Ayim (Afro-German activist and poet), Ika Hügel-Marshall (Afro-German author), Generations of Afro-German activists and international Black feminist scholars
Nominations
National Book Award finalist (Poetry, 1974) - From a Land Where Other People Live

Education

National Autonomous University of Mexico
Period: 1954（在学・研修）
Year of Graduation: 1954
Country: Mexico
Year as a student; records of degree completion are not clear.
Hunter College
Degree: BA
Period: 1955–1959
Year of Graduation: 1959
Country: United States
Bachelor of Arts.
Columbia University School of Library Service
Library Science
Degree: MLS
Period: 1959–1961
Year of Graduation: 1961
Country: United States
Master of Library Science; worked in public libraries.

Awards

MacDowell fellowship
1979
Organization: MacDowell
Result: 受賞
MacDowell fellowship
1983
Organization: MacDowell
Result: 受賞
State Poet of New York
1991
Organization: State of New York
Result: 任命（1991–1992）
American Library Association Gay Caucus Book of the Year
1981
Work: The Cancer Journals
Organization: American Library Association Gay Caucus
Result: 受賞
Bill Whitehead Award (Lifetime Achievement)
1992
Organization: Publishing Triangle
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The First Cities

1968 Poetry

Lorde's first volume of poetry, noted for quiet, introspective poems addressing identity and early themes that recur throughout her work.

IdentityBlacknessIntrospection

Cables to Rage

1970 Poetry

Poems largely written during her time at Tougaloo College, addressing love, betrayal, childbirth, and openly confirming her homosexuality in some poems.

LoveMotherhoodSexuality

Coal

1976 Poetry

A breakthrough collection that united many of Lorde's central themes: rage at racial injustice, celebration of Black identity, and calls for intersectional consideration of women's experiences.

AngerLiberationBlack feminism

The Cancer Journals

1980 Nonfiction / Essays

A personal account and essays bearing witness to Lorde's breast cancer diagnosis, treatment, recovery, and reflections on illness, sexuality, and disability.

IllnessEmbodimentSurvival

Zami: A New Spelling of My Name

1982 Biomythography / Memoir

A 'biomythography' combining biography and myth, chronicling Lorde's childhood and adulthood and the evolution of her sexuality and self-awareness.

MemoirSexualitySelf-definition

Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches

1984 Essays

A collection of essays and speeches elaborating Lorde's theories on difference, feminism, and the necessity of communicating marginalized experiences. Includes 'The Master's Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master's House.'

FeminismDifferenceCommunity

Bibliography

  • The First Cities (1968)
  • Cables to Rage (1970)
  • From a Land Where Other People Live (1973)
  • New York Head Shop and Museum (1974)
  • Coal (1976)
  • The Black Unicorn (1978)
  • The Cancer Journals (1980)
  • Zami: A New Spelling of My Name (1982)
  • Sister Outsider (1984)
  • A Burst of Light (1988)
  • The Collected Poems of Audre Lorde (1997, posthumous)

Adaptations

  • A Litany for Survival: The Life and Work of Audre Lorde (1995)
  • Audre Lorde – The Berlin Years 1984–1992 (2012)
  • Body of a Poet (tribute biopic, 1995)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Technically masterful and emotionally powerful poetrySpoken-word delivery and performative intensityClear, argumentative prose in her essays on feminism and intersectionality
Recurring Motifs
Difference and solidarityBlack female identityAnger and liberationIllness and embodiment (cancer)Sexuality and motherhood

Health

  • Breast cancer (initial)
    1978–1978（初診と手術）
    Underwent mastectomy and treatment; her experience informed The Cancer Journals.
  • Liver metastases (terminal cancer)
    1984–1992（再発から死去まで）
    Metastatic recurrence leading to death in 1992; significantly affected later life and writings.

Legacy

Audre Lorde was a seminal poet and thinker whose work shaped Black feminism, lesbian liberation, and intersectional theory. Her influence spans academia, activism, and culture, with institutions, awards, and memorials bearing her name.

Academic Societies

  • African American literature and women's studies scholarly communities
  • Feminist studies academic networks

Archives

  • Spelman College Archives (Audre Lorde Papers)
  • John F. Kennedy Institute, Free University of Berlin (Audre Lorde Archive)
  • Lesbian Herstory Archives (audio recordings and papers)

In Popular Culture

  • Google honored her 87th birthday with a Google Doodle in 2021
  • Inducted on the National LGBTQ Wall of Honor at the Stonewall National Monument (2019)
  • A street in Berlin (Kreuzberg) renamed Audre-Lorde-Straße (project finalized 2024)

Quotes

  • Your silence will not protect you.
    Source: Sister Outsider (essay: "The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action") (1984)
  • The master's tools will never dismantle the master's house.
    Source: Sister Outsider (essay: "The Master's Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master's House") (1984)

Trivia

  • Born Audrey Geraldine Lorde; she removed the 'y' from Audrey in childhood and published as Audre Lorde.
  • Served as State Poet of New York from 1991 to 1992.
  • The Cancer Journals won the ALA Gay Caucus Book of the Year Award in 1981.
  • Publishing Triangle established the Audre Lorde Award for lesbian poetry in 2001.