A Burst of Light: and Other Essays
by Audre Lorde

[Originally published in 1998] “The self-described Black feminist lesbian mother poet used a mixture of prose, theory, poetry, and experience to interrogate oppressions and uplift marginalized communities. She was one of the first Black feminists to target heteronormativity, and to encourage Black feminists to expand their understanding of erotic pleasure. She amplified anti-oppression, even as breast cancer ravaged her ailing body.” — Evette Dionne, Bustle Magazine

Winner of the 1989 Before Columbus Foundation American Book Award, this path-breaking collection of essays is a clarion call to build communities that nurture our spirit. Lorde announces the need for a radical politics of intersectionality while struggling to maintain her own faith as she wages a battle against liver cancer. From reflections on her struggle with the disease to thoughts on lesbian sexuality and African-American identity in a straight white man’s world, Lorde’s voice remains enduringly relevant in today’s political landscape.

Those who practice and encourage social justice activism frequently quote her exhortation, “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.” In addition to the journal entries of “A Burst of Light: Living with Cancer,” this edition includes an interview, “Sadomasochism: Not About Condemnation,” and three essays, “I Am Your Sister: Black Women Organizing Across Sexualities,” “Apartheid U.S.A.,” and “Turning the Beat Around: Lesbian Parenting 1986,” as well as a new foreword by Sonia Sanchez.

“When I don’t know what to do, I turn to the Lorde.” — Alexis Pauline Gumbs, Bitch Media