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timbo001's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
ralowe's review against another edition
5.0
this is the first time i've ever read any book of poetry cover to cover. i'm attemtping to be as thorough as possible in my search for audre lorde's ideas of self-care. it comes close to the ideas of foucault, wherein it is intertwined with knowing the self, the practice of building an edifice of images that make the self coherent, storytelling, biography, history, myth. the area i found most beautiful in this work were the selections drawn from the black unicorn. black unicorn was clearly the funnest. the words were all perfect there. there's lust, rage, pain, sublimity. i think about how i have aimee cesaire scheduled to do this next with.
nerdysread's review against another edition
idk I just can't finish books... Plus, I have to return it in 2 days. Too much works to finish it
thevillainschronicles's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
5.0
"I am a bleak heroism of words that refuse to be buried alive with the liars"
it took me exactly 305 days to explore every sentence Lorde puts into ink in detail.
I think it was important for me to pick this book up when I needed it the most, to live with it the way she lived with her words and poems throughout her entire life. This book truly is a treasure and I can't believe we are lucky enough to be this intimate with such a brilliant force of nature.
I am sure to go back to this over and over, hunch over her every word once more to get a deeper understanding every time.
“and when the sun rises we are afraid
it might not remain
when the sun sets we are afraid
it might not rise in the morning
when our stomachs are full we are afraid
of indigestion
when our stomachs are empty we are afraid
we may never eat again
when we are loved we are afraid
love will vanish
when we are alone we are afraid
love will never return
and when we speak we are afraid
our words will not be heard
nor welcome
but when we are silent,
we are still afraid.
It is better to speak,
remembering
we were never meant to survive"
it took me exactly 305 days to explore every sentence Lorde puts into ink in detail.
I think it was important for me to pick this book up when I needed it the most, to live with it the way she lived with her words and poems throughout her entire life. This book truly is a treasure and I can't believe we are lucky enough to be this intimate with such a brilliant force of nature.
I am sure to go back to this over and over, hunch over her every word once more to get a deeper understanding every time.
“and when the sun rises we are afraid
it might not remain
when the sun sets we are afraid
it might not rise in the morning
when our stomachs are full we are afraid
of indigestion
when our stomachs are empty we are afraid
we may never eat again
when we are loved we are afraid
love will vanish
when we are alone we are afraid
love will never return
and when we speak we are afraid
our words will not be heard
nor welcome
but when we are silent,
we are still afraid.
It is better to speak,
remembering
we were never meant to survive"
superciliary's review against another edition
5.0
My favorite poems of hers are New Year's Day and From the House of Yemanjá
turtlebrainlibrarian's review against another edition
4.0
The writing is raw, reflective and beautiful. The emotions are so powerful and takes hold onto your heart.
jessicaps's review against another edition
3.0
There were a few poems that stood out to me. Unpopular opinion, but overall, I was not super moved. I guess the poems just didn’t speak to me. I’m looking forward to reading Audre Lorde’s prose instead.
jesshooves's review against another edition
“Nothing says that you must / say hello / as we pass in the street, / but we have known each other too well / in the dark / for this, / and it hurts me when you do not speak.”
—from poem “The Dozens” p. 193
—from poem “The Dozens” p. 193
katiez0314's review against another edition
3.0
I’ve been working on this one for months-I like to take my time with poetry collections and this one was no easy feat. I have loved Audre Lorde for many years but haven’t ever taken the time to really sit with her words until now. She captures the raw pain of Black loss, Black joy, and Black love so deeply. I felt intrusive in some of her words and immersed in others. This was an incredible collection, and I think I will return to it often.