Audre Lorde

Audre Lorde (1934 to 1992) was an American writer, professor, philosopher, poet and civil rights activist, born Audrey Geraldine Lorde to Caribbean immigrant parents in New York. She described herself as a Black, lesbian, feminist, socialist, mother, warrior, poet, and argued that there could be no hierarchy of oppressions among people who share the goals of liberation. Her poems are known for technical mastery and for their anger at the civil and social injustices she saw, and her poetry and prose deal with civil rights, feminism, lesbianism, illness, disability and Black female identity. Her collection Coal in 1976 established her as an influential voice in the Black Arts Movement. She co-founded Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press, taught at the City University of New York, and from 1991 until her death served as New York State Poet Laureate.