Notable Lesbians
This week’s Notable Lesbian is:
Audre Geraldine Lorde
February 18, 1934 - November 17, 1992
Audre Lorde was born in New York City to parents of West Indian heritage. The youngest of five children, she grew up in Harlem, hearing her mother’s stories about the West Indies. 
She wrote her first poem when she was in the eighth grade. Her first volume of poems, The First Cities, was published in 1968. In the 1980s, Lorde and writer Barbara Smith founded Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press. She was the poet laureate of New York from 1991-1992 and died of breast cancer in 1992.
Interesting tid bit: While studying Library Science after getting her BA from Hunter College, Lorde supported herself working various odd jobs: factory worker, ghost writer, social worker, X-ray technician, medical clerk, and arts and crafts supervisor. Lorde was also nearsighted and legally blind.
“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.” ~ Audre Lorde
The Collected Poems Of Audre Lordewas published in 1997.
If you have a suggestion for a Notable Lesbian, contact me and I’ll highlight her in an upcoming post.
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May 17th, 2007 at 12:33 pm
Thank you for reminding me of Audre Lorde today. I named one of my cats after her book, Zami: a new spelling of my name.
May 17th, 2007 at 2:16 pm
um, am i a complete idiot or what?? i had no idea audre lorde was a lesbian! yikes, that’s sad… thanks for the information on her, lyndsey!
May 17th, 2007 at 2:21 pm
Glad to shed some light on the subject Carsenstia - that’s the point of notable lesbians, to show that some really amazing women who contributed to our society were also gay.
Deb - you’re very welcome.