I Am Your Sister Collected and Unpublished Writings of Audre Lorde (Transgressing Boundaries: Studies in Black Politics and Black Communities)

I do not like to be told how many words to use for this review! Here is what I want to write: I received a perfect copy in perfect delivery time, thanks!

I don't know how to write this review, but I feel deeply compelled to do so. All I can say is that Lorde's work is absolutely indispensable to my life and the journey and growth of my humanity. In the wonderful introductory essay by one of the editors Rudolph P. Bryd, we see how Lorde's work finds itself in the tradition of Black Feminist/Radical thought from the 1830s with Maria W. Stewart right up until Lorde's context of the 1950s-80s. As importantly, Bryd points to where Lorde's work makes radical additions to that tradition, why certain texts were included, how the unpublished texts fit in, and where these works burst out and truly become original.For me, equally important as the original thinking powering her works is the voice behind them. How she said what she said, what was the deeper spirit of her voice. On this point, she is wholly original in my life. At times, Baldwin reaches me in a similar way but Lorde is more personal and often times even more challenging. Certainly Baldwin was more prolific as an essayist, but I think Baldwin often felt it his responsibility to speak about the issues he raised. Lorde's work is more personal because she speaks with a deep sense of the urgency of her own survival, which for her is reflexive. "There is only one survival." Certainly Baldwin felt this way as well, but he was more self-sacrificing in a way. He really (perhaps ironically in a christian way) sacrificed himself completely to the burden of his prophetic vision. For Lorde, it seems, the process of writing, of poetry, of formulating her deeper silences and feelings into thoughts and action, that process was as necessary to her as an individual as breathing. In this sense, Lorde's actions and life are a paradigm of her words and work. They are integral to one another and, on that point, experiencing her work can become as transformative as a loving relationship with another human being... because if you hear it, if you let it in, and feel it, you are hearing her and that voice is unmistakable. unnerving. beautiful. challenging. unhousing. strong. tender. feeling. fierce. loving. listening (yes! she has a listening voice).. and finally simply embodied. (which is what Alice Walker's beautiful essay speaks about.)For me, Lorde's works should not only be considered in the tradition of black radical/feminist/LGBT thought, like those of Baldwin or Hansberry or Alice Walker, but all of these people and especially Lorde are *critical* voices in all american thought and literature. This collection proves that again, with selections of published and unpublished works by Lorde, including the full text of her last collection, "A Burst of Light," and around 20 unpublished reviews, addresses, and early considerations of some of her most original thoughts on difference, poetry, and teaching. Additionally, the book ends with personalized and moving considerations of Lorde by Alice Walker, bell hooks, Gloria Joseph, and editors Johnnetta Betsch Cole and Beverly Guy-Sheftall.My only regret is that the book didn't contain what I believe to be among her most important essays; "Uses of the Erotic: the Erotic as Power," from Sister Outsider. The editors believe this essay is anthologized too commonly elsewhere. Of course, the themes are touched upon, but this essay just seems to be too important to exclude from any Lorde prose collection. Nevertheless! Obviously the book is indispensable to everyone! in every setting and context.Lorde writes for all who hear.

This text should be the starting place for anyone who cares about real justice, progress, and centering the experience of marginalized people. Absolutely phenomenal collection of her work all in one place—a must have!

Excellent read and thought provoking

I have loved the work of Audre Lorde since first reading her in a feminist theory course.This book is great. My only criticism is actually with the Product Description. I own all the published work of Lorde. Recently I gave away my copy of "Sister Outsider" to a dear friend. When I thought about repurchasing a copy, I figured why not pick up "I Am Your Sister." I knew that the book featured the collected works and double checked the description. The Product Description on the Amazon page listed "I Am Your Sister" to include "a major body of Lorde's speeches and essays, along with the complete text of A Burst of Light and Lorde's landmark prose works Sister Outsider and The Cancer Journals." With that I ordered.I just got the book in the mail. It's upsetting to see that only two essays from "Sister Outsider" are included.I am torn because I'm happy to have the book. I'm pleased Lorde's work carries on! With that being said, I also feel the description is misleading and that surprises me!