Audre Lorde (Photo Credit: Oprahmag.com)
The Legacy of Lorde
We have an extra special blogpost for you today and it features an artist who not only was a leading figure for civil rights, but is a legendary artist for LGBTQ+ representation all over the world. And had she still been alive today, she would have turned eighty-seven years old. Today is Audre Lorde's birthday and because she deserves all of the recognition that she receives, it only seems fitting that an entire post be made in her honor. As we celebrate one of the world's most praised writers, we hope that you will join us in reflecting on not only Lorde's artistic skills and talents, but for her leading contributions and fearless work she achieved to give a voice to the voiceless and raise up a hope in this lifetime that might have otherwise been dimly lit. Yet, the power in her writing was more than enough to keep the blaze burning for representation and allow those who felt unseen, to finally have a place to step into the light. Because I believe that it is important to practice total transparency on this platform, I will admit that I personally did not have the pleasure of discovering Audre Lorde and her incredible talents until late of last year. During a pandemic and a course taken on contemporary critical issues, I was able to be graciously introduced to a writer who somehow felt like a friend I had known my entire life. I will never forget the first time that I read her poem, "Coal" in class. The power of her artistic expression seemed strong enough to come through the paper, which only makes me think what it must have felt like for her to feel her passions coming out of the pen. As a self-described, "black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet" of her time, the impact of her incredible work truly makes her a figure of force who proved to be unstoppable. And with words, they certainly proved to go a long way.
Cover of Audre Lorde's book of selected works (Photo Credit: Nytimes.com)
In addition to being a powerful poet, Lorde was a writer who was also a feminist, librarian, and civil rights activist. And with all of these influential roles that Lorde thrived in, she still maintained her passion for confronting the uncomfortable. With serious issues surrounding the injustices of racism, illness and disability, Lorde was also taking up the never ending obstacles of homophobia and heterosexism. In writing this post, I can not help but been overly inspired by her continuous involvement in changing the world. It seems that no matter how many issues Lorde was speaking out against, she never tired from channeling her creativity into something both empowering and impactful. And it is clear that even today, she is widely celebrated and respected for making great achievements from her work in movements such as in black feminism or third-wave feminist discourse. Lorde covered many bases and it is pretty safe to say that she is no stranger to hitting a home run (especially throughout her entire career). And while running these bases, the wide range and array of topics happening within the world never seemed to go unnoticed by the poet. Lorde was a writer who was very much both invested and involved with the world around her. However, it was also the way that she talked about the ideas of lesbianism and sexuality that made her impact even more unique and interesting. I recall reading some of her essays and works such as "The Master's Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master's House" and feeling the heavy weight of the warrior's words who would not tackle topics of injustice lightly. What I mean by this, is that Lorde channeled her emotions of anger and frustration openly and readily, without holding back. There was no sugarcoating when it came to her words, leaving more of a punch of power within her body of works. It would also prove to be a most effective way to not only grab people's attention, but to get them to think more deeply about life.
Audre Lorde in her Staten Island home (Photo Credit: Nyclgbtsites.org)
Framing the Future with Words
As was mentioned earlier, in addition to celebrating Audre Lorde and her legacy, the goal of this post is to allow for some time of reflection. In my own personal reflection, I think of Audre Lorde and her accomplishments in advocating for LGBTQ+ representation. Because this is a blog that is constantly looking at artists who pave a way for LGBTQ+ representation in the media, Audre Lorde could not be a more wonderful feature to this platform. And speaking of platforms, Lorde stands firmly on the one she helped build and raise up so many people that for too long felt unseen, unheard, and misunderstood. I recently read a fantastic article written by Kelly Glenn of the 14th Street Y website who highlighted Lorde's achievements, while honoring her as a hero (and in my opinion, rightfully so). Glenn frames some of Lorde's work as having "shaped feminist and womanist thought and lesbian culture throughout the twentieth century." In addition to this, Glenn also spoke about why Lorde is a hero for the LGBTQ+ community: "Audre Lorde is my LGBT hero because her life's work encouraged visibility, courage, and the confrontation of injustices. In a time where society was significantly less accepting of the LGBT community, Lorde was unapologetic about who she was. Lorde imagined a world where personal identity was not just associated with the visual aspect of a person." When I read Glenn's article, I was reminded of the media that has been a nonstop, evolving and ever-changing experience that reaches millions of people. In a world where visual aspects are continuously dissected and over analyzed to the point of total obscurity with far too many barriers, instead of balanced ground, Lorde was using her medium to artistically rewrite the way the world not only looked at representation, but understood it.
Lorde was a writer that has brought us all closer to a future far more understood and represented than what might have otherwise been. It is LGBTQ+ artist like her and so many others around the world that were ahead of their time and used that time wisely and productively to help shape a slab of what was once solitude and molded it into a beautiful and bright, fully functioning sculpture of inclusivity - and we are still carving our hands into it. It is progress that continues to showcase the marks of many that helped us get to where we are today, and of course, there is still good and hard work to be done. But none of it is impossible, especially with heroes like Lorde who show us that there is never a reason to settle or accept the indifferences and inequalities of the world that try to separate us or attempt to break us down. When the world seemed to be at war, words from Lorde proved to be a weapon of wisdom. And when it was not her published work such as Sister Outsider (1984) or Cables to Rage (1970) - a book that contained the first poetic expression of her lesbianism - there were speeches given by Lorde that turned her written words into spoken demonstrations of the passion that she so desperately felt for people. And all of it, every single word, helped the world move in the direction toward acceptance and equality for racial issues and sexuality and so much more. Framing the future seemed to be something that Lorde was destined to do. Throughout her career, she paved the way for LGBTQ+ artists and many others to have representation not just through ink and paper, but carved an extra space for the community to thrive within the public. And that is one of the many reasons why we call her a hero. On behalf of the LGBTQ+ Media Lens, we wish Audre Lorde a very happy birthday and we thank her for being a hero - in every sense of the word. They say some heroes wear capes, some fly, and some even have superpowers that save the world. Lorde may not have worn capes or took to the sky for flight, but she most certainly used her superpowers to not only save the world, but changed it for the better. And she did it all with both feet firmly planted on the ground.
Audre Lorde (1934-1992) (Photo Credit: Carte-blanche.org)
"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." - Audre Lorde
Also, here is a link to Kelly Glenn's article that was mentioned in this blogpost.
Please join us in celebrating Audre Lorde's birthday by heading over to the
Poetry Foundation to discover even more brilliant and bold written work from the legendary writer.
Thank you for your time. See you in the next post!
*None of the images or videos belong to me and were found on Google.
Comments
Post a Comment