Reviews with content warning for Racism - Sister Outsider

“we are women making contact within ourselves and with each other across the restrictions of a printed page, bent upon the use of our own/one another’s knowledges.” → a great summary of how this book made me feel

i am going to be thinking about this book for the rest of my life. i will write a more cohesive review later on – it is only right that i share my thoughts on audre lorde’s work, as she has so kindly and reverently shared her thoughts with me – but i am in awe of how much i enjoyed this book, lorde’s writing style, and the stories she had to share. learned a lot but also found so many thoughts and feelings that i’ve previously had articulated in ways that i would have never been able to communicate. it almost feels a little trivial to mention which essays were my favourite since i think they're all worth reading but i will be going back to the transformation of silence into language and action, uses of the erotic, the master's tools will never dismantle the master's house, age, race, class, and sex: women redefining difference, the uses of anger, and eye to eye quite often! almost every page is annotated with my own thoughts, “!!!!”, or tabs so i can readily revisit certain passages and quotes. a must read!!!!!!!!

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robinks's review against another edition

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challenging informative reflective slow-paced

5.0

What a powerful introduction to Audre Lorde’s words. I read so many lines over and over to let them sink in. There were such meaningful, clear anecdotes and heavy research to support Lorde’s points. This is definitely a collection I will come back to time and time again.

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linguaphile412's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

4.0

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nytephoenyx's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective slow-paced

4.0

I think this collection is better rated on an essay-by-essay basis. The danger in putter them all together and trying to rate it as a lump sum is that some are better than others and there is repetition in some of the examples that takes away from the overall allure of individual essays.

I liked and appreciated Sister Outsider, don't get me wrong. But for myself as a reader, I think it would have been more impactful with each essay as a standalone. I get caught up in technical details and that takes away from the overall message, which is an important one. And definitely a message that should not be clouded by truly unimportant technical things.

Audre Lorde is an idol to so many for a good reason - she unapologetically speaks the truth and raises her peers, sisters, friends, and community. The conversations in these essays about inter-sectionalism, toxic masculinity, raising children, her sexual identity are all so important. Doubly se when we remember that these essays were largely written decades ago, and the gave a voice to so many people who found themselves trampled and powerless.

The importance of these essays - beyond the technicals of the collection and the unfortunate fact of some of Lorde's personal behavior in romantic relationship - is why this is a four star review. These messages are important. And they are worth hearing, despite the flaws of the collection or the author. They are so important.

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