Zami/Sister Outsider/Undersong

Librarian Note: ISBN 0965072514/9780965072519

This exclusive edition brings together a selection of Audre Lorde's poetry and essays with "biomythography," the form that she created in 'Zami: A New Spelling of My Name' (1982).

'Zami' combines biography, mythology, and history as it records Lorde's experiences as a West Indian in America and the growth of her emotional and sexual resonance with women. Zami grows up, goes to high school and college in New York City, and looks for women like herself. Ultimately she discovers Afrekete, a kindred spirit whose passion and will match her own. She must learn to deal with racism, sexism, and opposition to her lesbian identity, but she has the spirit to retain her individuality.

Lorde tackles the complexities of her multiple identities in 'Sister Outsider' (1984). It includes essays such as "Poetry Is Not a Luxury," in which she declares that poetry is "a vital necessity of our existence."

Published just months before her death, 'Undersong: Chosen Poems Old and New' (1992) covers 30 years of Lorde's poetry. Here, Lorde demonstrates her mastery of the love poem, but she writes with equal passion and eloquence about everything from a conversation to her identity as a black woman.