Audre Lorde was born on 18th February 1934 in New York City, U.S. She was an American writer, a very famous feminist, librarian, and activist. She described herself as "Black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet". She worked for the eradication of injustices of racism, sexism, classism, capitalism, heterosexism, and homophobia.
She attended Hunter College and also worked as a librarian, and became a participant in the gay culture of Greenwich Village. She co-founded Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press. She also became an associate of the Women's Institute for Freedom of the Press in 1977.
The documentary, Audre Lorde: The Berlin Years 1984-1992 was accepted at the Berlin Film Festival. It received several awards, including the Best Documentary Audience Award 2014, the Gold Award for Best Documentary. She donated some of her manuscripts and papers to the Lesbian Herstory Archives. she won several awards during her lifetime, and she also won the Lifetime Achievement Award.
In 1978, Lorde was diagnosed with breast cancer. After her diagnosis, she wrote The Cancer Journals, which won the American Library Association Gay Caucus Book of the Year Award in 1981. From 1991 she was the New York State Poet laureate. Lorde died due to cancer at the age of 58 in St. Croix.
Some of the most famous Audre Lorde Quotes are as follows.
The master's tools will never dismantle the master's house.
A master can guide you and help you grow and become the person you wish to become, but he will never let you grow bigger than himself. He will not allow you to be greater than him. He will try to elevate to a greater level always. A master will teach you and guide you, but he will never let you ruin his house.
I am deliberate and afraid of nothing.
One should never ever fear anything in life. He should be fearless. He should accept everything and move on in life. He should be a real warrior, and he should have the ability to make pragmatic decisions. One needs to be fearless and determined to achieve greater heights in life.
Revolution is not a one-time event.
Revolution is a process. It is not a one-time action. After several efforts and many toils, we start changing slowly. It takes a lot of hard work to change something. Revolution takes a lot of time and those who are in the process of doing so are the most courageous and brave humans on earth.
Life is very short and what we have to do must be done in the now.
Now or never. We should always remember this. Life is very short, and it is very unpredictable. We never know what life throws at us, so we should not waste time now. Whatever we want to do, we should do it right now. Time once gone is gone forever, so we should try to make the most of it right now.
Our feelings are our most genuine paths to knowledge.
Our feelings guide us to what is right and wrong in life. Our hearts tell us the best directions. One should always follow his heart. Our gut feelings are always our best guides. They tell you what kind of a person you should become and what you should choose. When we follow what our heart says and accept our feelings, we reach greater heights.
It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences.
Nobody is alike. Everyone is different from each other. We are all unique in our own ways. It is not the differences that divide us but our inability to accept them. When we learn to accept, recognize and celebrate the differences, we can never be divided.
Continue reading some of the best Audre Lorde Quotes...
If I didn't define myself for myself, I would be crunched into other people's fantasies for me and eaten alive.
Nobody can tell you who you are or how you should be. It is only you who gets to decide that. If you don't speak up for yourself and if you don't tell others what you are, you will be compelled to be what others define you as. It is your life, and you don't have to live up to anyone's expectations other than you.
Only by learning to live in harmony with your contradictions can you keep it all afloat.
There is nothing such as 'perfect' in life. Even perfection comes with its own imperfections. We should always try to live in harmony with our contradictions, imperfections, and flaws. When we accept ourselves, we live a life of joy. We should learn from every mistake and try to make things better than before. We should never stop accepting ourselves just the way we are.
When we speak we are afraid our words will not be heard or welcomed. But when we are silent, we are still afraid. So it is better to speak.
We always fear that when we speak, we will not be heard or welcomed, and we also stay silent and fear everything around us. It is, therefore, better to be afraid and speak than stay quiet because an idea can change everything.
We have to consciously study how to be tender with each other until it becomes a habit because what was native has been stolen from us, the love of Black women for each other.
We, as humans, should never let humanity die within ourselves. We should always try to be gentle with each other, and we should never be rude or harsh towards others. Even if we try to be like that, we will eventually become tender.
Each time you love, love as deeply as if it were forever.
Loving someone and being loved by someone is a fortunate thing. One should always love someone with everything he has. He should not love that person superficially, but he should be deeply in love with that person. One should love their loved ones deeply like there is no tomorrow.
Few more Audre Lorde Quotes...
The quality of light by which we scrutinize our lives has a direct bearing upon the product which we live, and upon the changes which we hope to bring about through those lives.
It's all about perceptions and perspectives. When you look for the good in others and your life, you feel satisfied and content, and you lead a happy life whereas, when you try to look out for the negative sides of everything, you never get happy. It's all about what we are looking for. Positive energy will attract positive and negative energy will attract negative.
I have come to believe over and over again that what is most important to me must be spoken, made verbal, and shared, even at the risk of having it bruised or misunderstood.
One should always speak his mind. He should always put forward his opinions and thoughts even if it is bruised or misunderstood. One should always be very vocal about his opinions. He should not fear the consequences at all.
Your silence will not protect you.
Many people think that remaining silent will help them, but it is not always the best escape that one opts for. Silence can be your saviour but not in every situation. Being silent will make you guilty too. One should always know when to speak and when to keep quiet.
When I use my strength in the service of my vision it makes no difference whether or not I am afraid.
When you try to focus properly, when you have a vision, whether you fear the process or not doesn't matter at all. When you are focused, you can achieve anything in life.
