In “An Interview: Audre Lorde and Adrienne Rich”, Adrienne asks a series of questions which insight intellectual debates in regard to her development as a poet. Lorde informs Rich that her development as a poet was due to her own rebelliousness, courage, and uniqueness. The interview begins by Rich asking Lorde what it is that caused her to begin writing, invoking her to reminisce on her early childhood to adolescence. Lorde responds by stating, “the first reason for my own writing, my need to say things I couldn’t say otherwise when I couldn’t find other poems to serve. (Lorde, 155)” Lorde expands upon this idea by stating that as a kid, her mother had conditioned her to communicate non-verbally. This technique was what she believed conditioned her to favor feelings as opposed to thoughts, and in an effort to convey these feelings, she would often revert to poetry.
Lorde realized from a young age that she was unique in this way, and in an effort to conform to her classmates, she would attempt to condition herself to think in “normal” ways. However, this did not foster the blooming poet inside of her. Lorde stated that she was often punished by her family and school for being different. She states that she was not always interested in school and, “If I read things that were assigned, I didn’t read them the way we were supposed to (Lorde, 158)”. In order to attain good grades it was essential to have instructors she liked and could relate to due to the fact that she would pick up on their inherent feelings through body language and other forms of non-verbal communication. Lorde makes the implication that this non-conformist style of writing, thinking, and communicating is largely attributable to her success as a poet. In this sense, the traditional schooling system Lorde was exposed to hindered her success rather than aiding it.
Lorde states that her, “own feelings…defied thought” and that “I couldn’t analyze or understand them because they didn’t make the kind of sense I had been taught to expect through understanding (Lorde, 165).” Throughout her life Lorde has searched for ways to convey her feelings to words, so that others could understand the insights she was having. According to Lorde, poetry served as the means to do so. Lorde claims that when she began writing her poems underwent intense scrutiny, misunderstanding, and utter hatred. However, Lorde managed to reach out to those who needed her most and could relate to her. Being a white, heterosexual, male I should be the last person who would be able to relate to her, however, after reading this interview it is my belief that we have a lot in common. The schooling system does not praise our distinctions from each other but attempts to erase them. Educational institutions reward those who can best conform to their ideologies of success and entrepreneurship. However, Lorde breaks the preconceived notion of writers by identifying as a black feminist lesbian and daring to write about it.
Lorde claims that her success as an educator is not due to her knowledge of canonized poetry, yet, to her ability to relate to her students and build loving relationships with them. She treats her students as humans and for the most part, they reciprocate. Lorde speaks on behalf of everyone, not just black feminist lesbians, when she breaks the boundaries between what we perceive as “acceptable literature”. By writing about radical, taboo subject matters Lorde encourages other to reach into the “black mother” inherent to all of us.
Discussion Questions:
- Do you believe that education has helped you develop your personal skills or discourage you from using them?
- In what ways can/ can’t you relate to the developmental experiences of Audre Lorde?
- Do you value your thoughts above your feelings or vice versa? And how has the helped/hindered you in your pursuit of a career?
Work Cited
Excerpt From: Audre Lorde. “Sister Outsider.” iBooks. https://books.apple.com/us/book/sister-outsider/id488573027
Excerpt From: Audre Lorde. “Sister Outsider.” iBooks. https://books.apple.com/us/book/sister-outsider/id488573027 She claims that she has always had an over-active imagination and that when she began college in New Mexico, it flourished, as did her poetry.
Excerpt From: Audre Lorde. “Sister Outsider.” iBooks. https://books.apple.com/us/book/sister-outsider/id488573027
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Hi Cody, I really liked your blog post. I really liked the points you made about the interview with Adrienne Rich and Audre Lorde. I think your third question is interesting when thinking about valuing thoughts over feelings. Personally I feel like my thoughts and feelings both have an important role, and are both important for a person to have. I feel like my thoughts are important because they are specifically how I’m thinking, and can be well thought out. They are my ideas and should be shared. My feelings though are valid, and I feel like my feelings are important because feelings are how I’m able to make a connection with the world around. My feelings can also help my thoughts when I think about the different concepts that I see around me. Lorde states “Most of the Black women I know think I cry too much, or that I’m too public about it, I’ve been told that crying makes me seem soft and therefore of little consequence”(165). I think what Lorde said here was very interesting because it shows how her vulnerability is seen by other black women. It also shows how her vulnerability is viewed, but I think overall her thoughts are seen as being above her emotions. Her emotions don’t matter because it’s her words that are the most important. Her words show how she excels in her writing.
Hi Cody! I really enjoyed reading your response and insights into “An Interview: Audre Lorde and Adrienne Rich.” I thoroughly enjoyed this interview and I loved all of the topics of the interview you pointed out. One part of your blog post that I also thought was interesting was when you had said that she used to only talk in poetic language. When I was reading the interview, I couldn’t quite wrap my head around how someone could only communicate through a poetic language without it being confusing to other people. Then, as I was reading on page 86 Audre was describing the legend of La Llorona. While describing the legend she Lorde said, “All the rocks tumbling down from the mountains made a voice, and the echoes would resound and it would be a sound of weeping, with the waters behind it.” In this description of the rocks falling it seemed to me an example of how she talks in a poetic language. If taken out of this interview and written separately it would seem like it was a poem in and of itself and I love that about the her. She describes a legend with such imagery and meaning behind each word that she isn’t just stating what the legend was about but evokes an emotion in the person she describes the legend to.
Hi Cody, I really liked how your second discussion question was centered around relating oneself to Lorde. I feel as though we can read all about her and still forget to find ourselves within her. I related to her statements about it being a necessity to her to verbalize her thoughts within “The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action” where she states “what is most important to me must be spoken, made verbal and shared, even at the risk of having it bruised or misunderstood. That the speaking profits me, beyond any other effect” (p. 40). It became increasingly uncomfortable for me to remain placated by good grades in my education when I felt as though my voice was going unheard. There were many times when I would clash with my teachers and not have anyone on my side because as they are a form of authority, they are perceived to be right. This standing alone was probably when I felt the most growth in my person, as I felt like if I asserted myself whether or not I became negatively perceived, I was at least true to myself.
Hi Cody!
I value your discussion questions and would like to answer #1 in light of your blog post that discusses Audre Lorde’s journey of expression through the lens of the education system vs. the inner-self. There is a quote that stood out to me, encapsulating how marginalized students feel: “Little Black girls, tutored by hate into wanting to become anything else… She can reflect what everybody else but momma seemed to know- that we were hateful, or ugly, or worthless, but certainly unblessed. We were not boys, and we were not white, so we counted for less than nothing” (159). The education system is made for the privileged. Those students that experience intersecting points of discrimination because of their traits feel the harshness of institutionalized racism, sexism, and classism in society. The usually oppressed students are taught to hush ideas contradicting a corrupt society and anything deemed “inappropriate” by the school. Lorde was conditioned as a child to express her emotions and thoughts through poetry, and as her work was shot down by authoritative figures. She began to rage within herself to think in “normal” ways. As Lorde points out, teaching cannot be done without a relationship established between the students and teacher; there must be shared respect. It harms the best educational interest of the student if knowledge is withheld from them, or explained on one-sided terms. I believe that the education system has strongly advocated for the development of personal skills, yet in a way that is not accessible for everyone. For example, a private, Catholic, all-girls school I attended for three months pushed for joining extracurriculars. I tried out for multiple clubs, yet the requirements were expensive. The girls I was competing against for a spot had years of paid-for experience/practice. If I wanted to join the English club, I would be left out of traveling events because I could not afford them. I couldn’t express myself through dance because the costumes and dues cost over a hundred dollars, and the girls were practicing since they were toddlers. Yet, due to the background of this school, there was no LGBTQ+ safe haven or club dedicated to minorities in that school climate. If I wanted to publish my poetry about an issue affecting people of a similar community to me, it had to be okayed by the authoritative sisters.