Born in New York City in 1934, Audre Lorde built a career as a writer, philosopher, and activist who navigated multiple professional identities. Her work bridged the fields of poetry, feminism, and African American literature, often addressing themes of identity, illness, and social injustice through a lens that defied traditional academic or literary categorization.
Formative Years and Education
Raised in Harlem as the youngest of three daughters, Lorde developed an early connection to language, learning to read and write by age four. She attended Hunter College High School before studying at the National Autonomous University of Mexico in 1954, a period she identified as crucial for her artistic and personal development. She subsequently graduated from Hunter College in 1959 and earned a master’s degree in library science from Columbia University in 1961, eventually working as a librarian in Mount Vernon.
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Lorde’s teaching career began with a writer-in-residence role at Tougaloo College in 1968, which deepened her commitment to exploring civil rights and the formal aspects of poetry. She held faculty positions at Lehman College from 1969 to 1970 and the John Jay College of Criminal Justice between 1970 and 1981. In 1981, she returned to Hunter College as the Thomas Hunter chair. Beyond the classroom, she was a co-founder of the Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press and served as a teacher at the John F. Kennedy-Institut from 1984 until 1992.
Literary Contributions
Her body of work encompasses poetry, essays, and novels, with notable titles including The Cancer Journals, Zami: A New Spelling of My Name, Sister Outsider, Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic as Power, Cables to Rage, and Poetry is Not a Luxury. Her writing received recognition through awards such as the Lambda Literary Award and an American Book Award in 1989. These texts examined the intersection of Black female identity, feminism, and lesbianism, consistently confronting societal structures.
Fast facts
- Born: 1934, New York City
- Died: 1992, Saint Croix
- Education: Columbia University, Hunter College
- Notable work: The Cancer Journals
- Notable work: Sister Outsider
- Notable work: Zami: A New Spelling of My Name
- Key teaching role: John Jay College of Criminal Justice
- Award: American Book Awards (1989)
Questions readers ask
What subjects did Audre Lorde address in her writing?
Her work focused on civil rights, feminism, lesbianism, Black female identity, illness, and social injustice.
Where did Audre Lorde teach during her career?
She held positions at Tougaloo College, Lehman College, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Hunter College, and the John F. Kennedy-Institut.
Achievements
- Notable work: Sister Outsider
- Notable work: The Cancer Journals
- Notable work: Zami: A New Spelling of My Name
- Notable work: Poetry is Not a Luxury
