Silence and invisibility go hand in hand with powerlessness. Audre Lorde More Quotes by Audre Lorde More Quotes From Audre Lorde Black writers, of whatever quality, who step outside the pale of what black writers are supposed to write about, or who black writers are supposed to be, are condemned to silences in black literary circles that are as total and as destructive as any imposed by racism. Audre Lorde circles racism writing If white American feminist theory need not deal with the differences between us, and the resulting difference in our oppressions, then how do you deal with the fact that the women who clean your houses and tend your children while you attend conferences on feminist theory are, for the most part, poor women and women of Color? What is the theory behind racist feminism? Audre Lorde color white children . . . it is through poetry that we give name to those ideas which are-until the poem-nameless and formless, about to be birthed, but already felt. Audre Lorde names giving ideas Some women wait for themselves around the next corner and call the empty spot peace but the opposite of living is only not living and the stars do not care. Audre Lorde stars waiting opposites It's a struggle but that's why we exist, so that another generation of Lesbians of color will not have to invent themselves, or their history, all over again. Audre Lorde generations color struggle When I speak of the erotic, then I speak of it as an assertion of the life force of women; of that creative energy empowered, the knowledge and use of which we are now reclaiming in our language, our history, our dancing, our loving, our work, our lives. Audre Lorde erotic dancing creative To encourage excellence is to go beyond the encouraged mediocrity of our society Audre Lorde mediocrity our-society excellence Silence has never brought us anything of worth. Audre Lorde silence Raising Black children — female and male — in the mouth of a racist, sexist, suicidal dragon is perilous and chancy. If they cannot love and resist at the same time, they will probably not survive. And in order to survive they must let go. This is what mothers teach — love, survival — that is, self-definition and letting go. Audre Lorde ifs Art is not living. It is the use of living. Audre Lorde inspire life art The quality of light by which we scrutinize our lives has direct bearing upon the product which we live, and upon the changes which we hope to bring about through those lives. It is within this light that we form those ideas by which we pursue our magic and make it realized. This is poetry as illumination, for it is through poetry that we give name to those ideas which are, until the poem, nameless and formless-about to be birthed, but already felt. Audre Lorde illumination light names In discussions around the hiring and firing of Black faculty at universities, the charge is frequently heard that Black women are more easily hired than are Black men. Audre Lorde faculty black men Poetry is not only dream and vision; it is the skeleton architecture of our lives. It lays the foundations for a future of change, a bridge across our fears of what has never been before. Audre Lorde skeletons dream life For those of us who write, it is necessary to scrutinize not only the truth of what we speak, but the truth of that language by which we speak it. Audre Lorde language truth writing The difference between poetry and rhetoric Audre Lorde differences poetry children I am not just a lesbian. I am not just a poet. I am not just a mother. Honor the complexity of your vision and yourselves. Audre Lorde vision honor mother All writers have periods when they stop writing, when they cannot write, and this is always painful and terrible because writing is like breathing. Audre Lorde breathing painful writing In the recognition of loving lies the answer to despair. Audre Lorde despair answers lying It is axiomatic that if we do not define ourselves for ourselves, we will be defined by others-for their use and to our detriment. Audre Lorde defined ifs use Poetry is not a luxury. Audre Lorde luxury poetry-is
