Edwin Rollins News Today

New book The Baby on the Fire Escape looks at the extreme ways some female artists have overcome the restraints of parenthood

Black, lesbian, mother, warrior and poet. Audre Lorde was an American writer who dedicated her life to activism for standing up against homophobia, sexism, classism and racism. Her words of

Audre Lorde’s poems, speeches, and books helped write the future of feminism. Here are some facts about the woman behind the work.

Photo by Salimah Ali Audre Lorde, born on Feb. 18, 1934, was a first-generation Caribbean-American feminist, womanist, librarian and civil rights activist. She described herself as “Black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet.” Her life’s work was centered around the injustices of racism, classism, sexism, capitalism, heteronormativity and homophobia (Poetry Foundation, 2019). Lorde has remarkable command of technic, voice and expression in her poetry that has allowed her to communicate angry a...