Audre Lorde was not only a famous black poet; she was also one of the most important radical black feminists of the past half century. I Am Your Sister collects her non-fiction prose from 1976 to 1990, and it is the first volume to provide a full picture of Lorde's political work (as opposed to her aesthetic work). The essays cover an impressive variety of topics: sexuality, race, gender, culture, class, parenting, disease, resistance, and power--both within the United States and across the African diaspora. While Lorde is best known as a progenitor of black feminist studies, I Am Your Sister stresses her signal influence in the creation of gay and lesbian studies. Lorde's work presaged the late 1980s shift in the academy toward the emphasis on the tight connections between race, class, gender, and sexuality--and later disability. Accordingly, the breadth of topics Lorde tackles in the various essays in I Am Your Sister capture the spirit of intersectionality that now dominates analysis in the humanities and critical social sciences.

About the Author
Rudolph Byrd is Professor of American Studies and Director of the African American Studies Program at Emory University. Beverly Guy-Sheftall is the Anna Julia Cooper Professor of Women's Studies at Spelman College. Johnnetta Cole was the first black woman president of Spelman College. She is currently the president of Bennett College.

Reviews
This book, clearly a labor of love by three colleagues who also call themselves friends, meets its objectives and more...This invaluable collections enables us to hear Lorde's voice again and to use the life lessons she shared with us. * Women's Review of Books *
A thorough survey, to say the least...I Am Your Sister reveals Lorde's legacy anew. * Bitch Magazine *
The editors of this abundant feast of a book remind us of the importance of Audre Lorde's work, which for 40 years has served as a foundation and catalyst for questions of identity, difference, power and social justice. There is much to ponder, discuss, teach and revere in this compilation. * Ms. Magazine *
I Am Your Sister is a collection for those who want and need to be introduced to Audre Lorde's thinking, and it is a great anthology for those who have read and been inspired by Lorde's writing all of their lives...a celebration, an honoring, and a thoughtful presentation of who Lorde was...an eye opener to how the struggles of past times continue to be what we grapple with today...a tool for survival--a teacher to help us realize our possibilities for change. * Feminist Review *
I Am Your Sister combines some of Lorde's most powerful essays with previously unavailable writings, as well as reflections on her work from other influential artists and activists. * Southern Voice *


Awards
Commended for Lambda Literary Awards (Nonfiction) 2009 and Stonewall Book Award (Nonfiction) 2010.



Book Information
ISBN 9780195341485
Author Rudolph P. Byrd
Format Hardback
Page Count 304
Imprint Oxford University Press Inc
Publisher Oxford University Press Inc
Weight(grams) 567g
Dimensions(mm) 157mm * 239mm * 28mm