There is no Hierarchy of Oppressions Audre Lorde More Quotes by Audre Lorde More Quotes From Audre Lorde I find I am constantly being encouraged to pluck out some one aspect of myself and present this as the meaningful whole, eclipsing or denying the other parts of self. Audre Lorde pluck self meaningful what you hear in my voice is fury, not suffering. Anger, not moral authority Audre Lorde moral voice suffering Afraid is a country with no exit visas. Audre Lorde exit fear country Of all the art forms, poetry is the most economical. It is the one which is the most secret, which requires the least physical labor, the least material, and the one which can be done between shifts, in the hospital pantry, on the subway, and on scraps of surplus paper. ... poetry has been the major voice of poor, working class, and Colored women. A room of one's own may be a necessity for writing prose, but so are reams of paper, a typewriter, and plenty of time. Audre Lorde typewriters writing art pornography is a direct denial of the power of the erotic, for it represents the suppression of true feeling. Pornography emphasizes sensation without feeling. Audre Lorde denial erotic feelings The sixties were characterized by a heady belief in instantaneous solutions. Audre Lorde instantaneous belief literature Hatred is a death wish for the hated, not a life wish for anything else. Audre Lorde forgiveness hatred wish As a Black lesbian feminist comfortable with the many different ingredients of my identity, and a woman committed to racial and sexual freedom from oppression, I find I am constantly being encouraged to pluck out some one aspect of myself and present this as the meaningful whole, eclipsing or denying the other parts of self. But this is a destructive and fragmenting way to live. Audre Lorde acceptance self meaningful I train myself for triumph by knowing it is mine no matter what. Audre Lorde triumph knowing matter I am very, very happy for Alice Walker. Audre Lorde very-happy walkers literature I am a post-mastectomy woman who believes our feelings need voice in order to be recognized, respected, and of use. Audre Lorde voice order believe The erotic is a resource within each of us that lies in a deeply female and spiritual plane, firmly rooted in the power of our unexpressed or unrecognized feeling. . . . Audre Lorde erotic spiritual lying I have died too many deaths that were not mine. Audre Lorde died chaos mines … our sons must become men – such men as we hope our daughters, born and unborn, will be pleased to live among. Our sons will not grow into women. Their way is more difficult than that of our daughters, for they must move away from us, without us. Hopefully ours have what they have learned from us, and a howness to forge into their own image. Audre Lorde daughter son moving We recognize that all knowledge is mediated through the body and that feeling is a profound source of information about our lives Audre Lorde body feelings profound I have suckled the wolf's lip of anger and I have used it for illumination, laughter, protection, fire in places where there was no light, no food, no sisters, no quarter. Audre Lorde laughter anger fire But the question is a matter of the survival and the teaching. That's what our work comes down to. No matter where we key into it, it's the same work, just different pieces of ourselves doing it. Audre Lorde survival keys teaching Say what you have to say now! Don't wait until you're sending blips from the other side. Audre Lorde waiting sides What is there possibly left for us to be afraid of, after we have dealt face to face with death and not embraced it? Once I accept the existence of dying as a life process, who can ever have power over me again? Audre Lorde accepting dying faces The more I use my strength in the service of my vision the less I am afraid. Audre Lorde vision use
