Coal is a collection of poetry by Audre Lorde, published in 1976. [1] It was Lorde's first collection to be released by a major publisher. [2] Lorde's poetry in Coal explored themes related to the several layers of her identity as a "Black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet." [3] [4]
Coal consists of five sections. While Audre Lorde presents poems that express each part of her identity, race undoubtedly plays a significant role in Coal. A major theme within the volume is Lorde's angry reaction towards racism. For Lorde, expressing anger was not destructive. Instead, Lorde transforms "rage at racism into triumphant self-assertion." [5] She specifically dedicates the book "To the People of Sun, That We May All Better Understand." [1] In addition, another significant part of the volume explores her existence as a lesbian, friend, and a former lover, specifically in the fourth section that consists of one long poem titled "Martha" that outlines the recovery of Lorde's former lover after a car accident. [1] : 53
The volume's namesake comes from a poem in the first section titled "Coal". It is written in free-verse and first-person. The idea of an identity consisting of several layers is exemplified in this poem. One's true identity is often hidden behind several muddled layers. Lorde alludes toward this concept by her recurrent use of the dual imagery of a piece of coal and a diamond. As the speaker of the poem, Lorde begins by equating herself with a piece of coal. [6]
The array of topics and nuances that are explored in Lorde's poems pertain to her own multifaceted-ness, signifying her status as "a self-styled "black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet." [7] The poem "Rites of Passage" shows as having a preoccupation with the male principle and with power. In it, she laments "their fathers are dying / whose deaths will not free them." [1] : 53 This poem, as well as "Father Son and Holy Ghost", "Rooming Houses Are Old Women", and "The Woman Thing" show "attempts to unify [women] in this patriarchal society." [8] Poems such as "Coal" and "Generation" showcase Lorde's position "as a visionary of a better world." [3] The poem "Coal" is both autobiographical and allegorical in effect, as "she not only wrote for herself, but for her children and women as well." [2] In the poem, Lorde's personal self-acceptance of her African American identity is meant to coalesce with the self-acceptance and the unification among all African American women, who Lorde hopes can find the "place of power within each of [themselves]" and "celebrate this womanly well of passion and creativity." [8] Coal is a metaphor for Lorde's African American heritage. However it is "also associated with Eros and with creativity; she celebrated this source as what she called 'woman's place of power within each of us.'" [9] The metamorphosis from coal into diamond represents Lorde's embracing of her identity, creativity and imagination, as "I am Black because I come from the earth's inside now take my word for jewel in the open light". [1] : 6
The second part of the collection appears to deal primarily with the theme of childhood. In "Now That I Am Forever With Child" Lorde uses nature as a descriptive metaphor of her pregnancy, giving it a pure and ethereal effect, as she describes the child as "blooming within [her]." [1] : 21 In the poem Lorde hopes for her daughter to be a free and independent spirit, harkening back to Lorde's characteristic "as a visionary of a better world." [3] In "What My Child Learns of the Sea" an association is further made between her child and the natural world. In "Story Books on a Kitchen Table", Lorde impressionistically recounts her own childhood and experiences with her negligent mother who "out of her womb of pain… spat me into her ill-fitting harness of despair." [1] : 27 In "Poem for a Poet", the reader is given a glimpse of Lorde's own methods as a writer, and features a reference to poet Randall Jarrell. [10]
Part three of the anthology consists of eleven poems. The poems in this section predominantly discuss Lorde's experiences as both a wife and a mother. In the poem "A Child Shall Lead" Lorde uses sensory imagery to express her concerns about her son and what will become of him in the future. Another poem "Paperweight" describes her frustrations with her heterosexual marriage. Throughout the poem, Lorde likens paper to something that can console her, because she uses it to write her poetry. The poem takes a dramatic turn in tone in the last stanza stating "or fold them [paper] all into a paper fan / with which to cool my husband's dinner." [1] : 48
Part four contains a single poem in five sections entitled "Martha". The poem delves into the emotional torment Lorde experiences when her friend of many years was in the hospital, after experiencing severe brain trauma in a car accident. Although the poem is written entirely in Lorde's own voice, she also inserts some dialogue, including statements that Martha may or may not have said. Throughout the poem, Lorde offers her own views on life and death as she sits by Martha's side for what appears to be more than a couple of months. Audre remained a significant figure in Martha's family during her hospitalization, watching Martha's young children so Martha's husband could be with her at the hospital, and accompanying Martha's husband at their daughter's 6th grade graduation. The last line of the poem reads "You cannot get closer to death than this Martha / the nearest you've come to living yourself," [1] : 62 leaving it unknown whether or not Martha actually dies. Martha did in fact survive the accident, and went on to lead a full, but diminished life with her family.
The fifth and final section of Lorde's volume primarily revolves around loss, mourning and commemoration. Lorde's personal reaction to unrequited love is an overwhelming theme in this section. There is a tone of sadness in all the poems. In "The Songless Lark", one of Lorde's shortest poems in the volume, the speaker mourns the departure of a loved one, declaring, "Sun shines so brightly on the hill / before you went away." [1] : 67 Lorde seems to end the volume in a bleak tone. The second to last poem of the book, "Second Spring" begins, "We have no passions left to love the spring / who have suffered autumn as we did, alone" and finishes the poem with "while we stood still / racked on the autumn's weeping / binding cold love to us." [1] : 69 Lorde's use of seasonal imagery seems to insinuate the passing of time, but there is a lack of growth and development in the poem. The speaker begins declaring that they have no passions left and ends standing in the cold.
Coal received generally positive reviews from critics, especially among her peers and other female poets.
Black, lesbian, mother, urban woman: None of Lorde's selves has ever silenced the others; the counterpoint among them is often the material of her strongest poems.
In poetry that is as compelling for its ethical vision as for its language, Lorde dares to imagine a changed world.
Adrienne Cecile Rich was an American poet, essayist and feminist. She was called "one of the most widely read and influential poets of the second half of the 20th century", and was credited with bringing "the oppression of women and lesbians to the forefront of poetic discourse". Rich criticized rigid forms of feminist identities, and valorized what she coined the "lesbian continuum", which is a female continuum of solidarity and creativity that impacts and fills women's lives.
Audre Lorde was an American writer, professor, philosopher, intersectional feminist, poet and civil rights activist. She was a self-described "black, lesbian, feminist, socialist, mother, warrior, poet," who dedicated her life and talents to confronting all forms of injustice, as she believed there could be "no hierarchy of oppressions".
Chrystos is a writer and activist who has published various books and poems that explore Indigenous Americans's civil rights, social justice, and feminism. They self-identify as Menominee and two-spirit, but are not a citizen of the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin or any other Native American tribe. Chrystos is also a lecturer, writing teacher and fine-artist. The poet uses the pronouns "they" and "them".
Zami: A New Spelling of My Name is a 1982 biomythography by American poet Audre Lorde. It started a new genre that the author calls biomythography, which combines history, biography, and myth. In the text, Lorde writes that "Zami" is "a Carriacou name for women who work together as friends and lovers", noting that Carriacou is the Caribbean island from which her mother immigrated. The name proves fitting: Lorde begins Zami writing that she owes her power and strength to the women in her life, and much of the book is devoted to detailed portraits of other women.
Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press was an activist feminist press that was closely related to the National Black Feminist Organization (NBFO) which was started in 1980 following a phone conversation between Barbara Smith and at the suggestion of her friend, poet Audre Lorde. Beverly and Barbara Smith and their associate Demita Frazier together cofounded the Combahee River Collective (CRC). The Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press was most active beginning in 1981, but the Press became inactive soon after Audre Lorde's death in 1992. Smith explains how the motivation for starting a press run by and for women of color was that "as feminist and lesbian of color writers, we knew that we had no options for getting published, except at the mercy or whim of others, whether in the context of alternative or commercial publishing, since both are white-dominated."
Joan Larkin is an American poet and playwright. She was active in the small press lesbian feminist publishing explosion in the 1970s, co-founding the independent publishing company Out & Out Books. She is now in her fourth decade of teaching writing. The science fiction writer Donald Moffitt was her brother.
Hattie Gossett is an African-American feminist playwright, poet, and magazine editor. Her work focuses on bolstering the self-esteem of young black women.
The Cancer Journals is a 1980 book of non-fiction by Audre Lorde. It deals with her struggle with breast cancer.
Pat Parker was an American poet and activist. Both her poetry and her activism drew from her experiences as an African-American lesbian feminist. Her poetry spoke about her tough childhood growing up in poverty, dealing with sexual assault, and the murder of a sister. At eighteen, Parker was in an abusive relationship and had a miscarriage after being pushed down a flight of stairs. After two divorces she came out as lesbian "embracing her sexuality" and said she was liberated and "knew no limits when it came to expressing the innermost parts of herself".
Irena Klepfisz is a Jewish lesbian author, academic and activist.
Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'fore I Diiie (1971) is the first collection of poems by African-American writer and poet Maya Angelou. Many of the poems in Diiie were originally song lyrics, written during Angelou's career as a night club performer, and recorded on two albums before the publication of Angelou's first autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969). Angelou considered herself a poet and a playwright, but is best known for her seven autobiographies. Early in her writing career she began a practice of alternating the publication of an autobiography and a volume of poetry. Although her poetry collections have been best-sellers, they have not received serious critical attention and are more interesting when read aloud.
nappy edges is a collection of poetry and prose poetry written by Ntozake Shange and first published by St. Martin's Press in 1978. The poems, which vary in voice and style, explore themes of love, racism, sexism, and loneliness. Shange's third book of poetry, nappy edges, was met with positive reviews and praise from critics, like Holly Prado of the Los Angeles Times who said of it that "this collection of poems, prose poems and poetic essays merges personal passion and heightened language."
Michelle Parkerson is an American filmmaker and academic. She is an assistant professor in Film and Media Arts at Temple University and has been an independent film/video maker since the 1980s, focusing particularly on feminist, LGBT, and political activism and issues.
Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches is a collection of essential essays and speeches written by Audre Lorde, a writer who focuses on the particulars of her identity: Black woman, lesbian, poet, activist, cancer survivor, mother, and feminist. This collection, now considered a classic volume of Lorde's most influential works of non-fiction prose, has had a groundbreaking impact in the development of contemporary feminist theories. In fifteen essays and speeches dating from 1976 to 1984, Lorde explores the complexities of intersectional identity, while explicitly drawing from her personal experiences of oppression to include sexism, heterosexism, racism, homophobia, classism, and ageism. The book examines a broad range of topics, including love, self-love, war, imperialism, police brutality, coalition building, violence against women, Black feminism, and movements towards equality that recognize and embrace differences as a vehicle for change. With meditative conscious reasoning, Lorde explores her misgivings for the widespread marginalization deeply-rooted in the United States' white patriarchal system, all the while, offering messages of hope. The essays in this landmark collection are extensively taught and have become a widespread area of academic analysis. Lorde's philosophical reasoning that recognizes oppressions as complex and interlocking designates her work as a significant contribution to critical social theory.
The Erotic, as defined and discussed by educator and poet, Audre Lorde, is a profound resource of feminine power housed within the spiritual plane of women's existence. This power, as she describes in her 1978 essay "Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic as Power", is a sense of deep satisfaction – beyond the sexual deceptively portrayed in the pornographic – elevated by a profound feeling that lives in the joy and fulfillment of a woman's being. This fulfillment becomes, as Lorde describes, the conscious decision in a woman's work, the power that embodies and manifests change in the fight against the oppression of women, especially Black women and women of color. This power of the erotic is a lifestyle, a potentiality that has been recognized as a threat, treated as suspect, and therefore suppressed out of fear. Lorde writes, "women so empowered are dangerous". Lorde demonstrates in redefining and reclaiming the erotic – a profound feeling of knowing, an empowering knowledge, "a lens through which we scrutinize all aspects of our existence" – that the erotic is a critical element in dismantling the social and political hierarchy situated in a white patriarchal power structure that reproduces the erotic as pornographic.
Your Silence Will Not Protect You is a 2017 posthumous collection of essays, speeches, and poems by African American author and poet Audre Lorde. It is the first time a British publisher collected Lorde's work into one volume. The collection focuses on key themes such as: shifting language into action, silence as a form of violence, and the importance of history. Lorde describes herself as a "Black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet", and addresses the difficulties in communication between Black and white women.
Movement In Black is a collection of poetry by Black lesbian feminist Pat Parker.
Feminist poetry is inspired by, promotes, or elaborates on feminist principles and ideas. It might be written with the conscious aim of expressing feminist principles, although sometimes it is identified as feminist by critics in a later era. Some writers are thought to express feminist ideas even if the writer was not an active member of the political movement during their era. Many feminist movements, however, have embraced poetry as a vehicle for communicating with public audiences through anthologies, poetry collections, and public readings.
Terri Lynn Jewell was an American author, poet and Black lesbian activist. She was the editor of The Black Woman’s Gumbo Ya-Ya, which received the New York City Library Young Persons Reading Award in 1994.
