A Burst of Light and Other Essays

A great American theorist of race, sexuality, gender, living, and dying, poet and activist Audre Lorde (1934–1992) created a body of work that was ahead of its time in its embrace of intersectionality. Her powerful collection of essays is a call to action for the social justice movement. Discover her inspiring words on intersectionality, lesbian sexuality, African-American identity, self-care and more.

Lorde's words — on race, cancer, intersectionality, parenthood, injustice — burn with relevance 25 years after her death. — O, The Oprah Magazine

Winner of the 1988 Before Columbus Foundation National Book Award, this path-breaking collection of essays is a clarion call to build communities that nurture our spirit . Lorde announces the need for a radical politics of intersectionality while struggling to maintain her own faith as she wages a battle against liver cancer . From reflections on her struggle with the disease to thoughts on lesbian sexuality and African-American identity in a straight white man's world, Lorde's voice remains enduringly relevant in today's political landscape .
Those who practice and encourage social justice activism frequently quote her exhortation , Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare. In addition to the journal entries of A Burst of Light: Living with Cancer, this edition includes an interview , Sadomasochism: Not About Condemnation, and three essays , I Am Your Sister: Black Women Organizing Across Sexualities, Apartheid U.S.A., and Turning the Beat Around: Lesbian Parenting 1986, as well as a new Foreword by Sonia Sanchez .
In A Burst of Light and Other Essays , feminist and LGBTQ icon Audre Lorde presents readers with a powerful call to action, urging us to create a society that values and respects its people, centers justice and equity, and encourages self-care. Her reflections on her own battle with cancer are both raw and moving, while her essays emphasizing the radical political intersectionality of identities remain relevant today. An equally vibrant essay collection full of thought-provoking topics include introspection on living with cancer, lesbian sexuality, and African-American identity in a straight white man's world. Caring for myself is not self-indulgence... Through her interviews, essays, and journal entries from her own struggle with liver cancer, Lorde stresses the importance of self-care and preservation as a form of resistance. This inspiring collection of essays offers empowerment and renewal to those fighting for change. This edition includes an interview, three essays, journal entries from “A Burst of Light: Living with Cancer” as well as a Foreword by Sonia Sanchez, inspiring us all to make a difference in our lives every day!
You don't read Audre Lorde, you feel her. — Essence

Lorde's timeless prose in this collection provides contemporary social justice warriors the language, strategies, and lessons around resistance, through the power of intersectionality, a Pan-African vision, and — ultimately — through the power of love and radical self-care. — NBC News

When I don't know what to do, I turn to the Lorde. — Alexis Pauline Gumbs, Bitch Media

Whenever my mind is heavy with questions and my heart thirsts for nourishment, I turn to the writing of Audre Lorde. Every time I revisit the words of Audre Lorde, I marvel over how relevant they continue to be. — AfterEllen.com

The self-described black feminist lesbian mother poet used a mixture of prose, theory, poetry, and experience to interrogate oppressions and uplift marginalized communities. She was one of the first black feminists to target heteronormativity, and to encourage black feminists to expand their understanding of erotic pleasure. She amplified anti-oppression, even as breast cancer ravaged her ailing body. — Evette Dionne, Bustle Magazine

This was my first time reading Audre Lorde (finally!) and now I can't wait to devour everything she ever wrote. This was the kind of book that you end up highlighting so many great quotes, words you want to memorize, apply, breathe. Empowering read. — Litsy