Blog 28: Zami: a new spelling of my name / Audre Lorde

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 Blog 28: Zami: a new spelling of my name / Audre Lorde

Audre Lorde tells her life story in her memoir Zami: a new spelling of my name. She is a black activist and shows her feminist views through her writing and poetry. She lived through a lot of adversity including the civil rights movement facing oppression regarding sexuality, race, and gender. Her story starts with her talking about growing up and being lesbian and black in a time when these identities were not accepted and appreciated by society. She struggled to come to terms with her identities, as she felt different and less than others. She explained, "We were all Black, all poor, all trapped, but our living styles and ways of being were as different as two Blacks could be in that time and place." It is sad to see the poverty she had to overcome at a time when she was already facing many troubles in her identity. Her relationship with her mother was another problem she had to face. She hated her mother at times. She was very tough on her and she had to deal with the complex struggles in this family dynamic. It added to her struggle to find self-acceptance from a young age. It damaged her self-worth but she was able to persevere and find the importance of sharing her voice as a writer and speaking out about her experiences growing up in a time like this. She shows her growth and coming of age throughout her journey of acceptance and liking her identity instead of trying to hide it. 


Comments

  1. Rebeka OgrenApril 14, 2023 at 6:40 AM

    I can only imagine how being a woman, being black and being lesbian all at the same time would have felt during her lifetime. The adversity she faced, especially within her own home is truly astounding, although her work that came out of it is amazing. I really admire the fact that she used activism to face her problems and in doing so, created a platform for woman like herself to speak on.

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