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The New York Head Shop and Museum
Lorde's fouth book of poems (1974).
56 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1975
About the author
Audre Lorde
90 books4,583 followersAudre Lorde was a revolutionary Black feminist. Lorde's poetry was published very regularly during the 1960s — in Langston Hughes' 1962 New Negro Poets, USA; in several foreign anthologies; and in black literary magazines. During this time, she was politically active in civil rights, anti-war, and feminist movements. Her first volume of poetry, The First Cities (1968), was published by the Poet's Press and edited by Diane di Prima, a former classmate and friend from Hunter College High School. Dudley Randall, a poet and critic, asserted in his review of the book that Lorde "does not wave a black flag, but her blackness is there, implicit, in the bone."
Her second volume, Cables to Rage (1970), which was mainly written during her tenure at Tougaloo College in Mississippi, addressed themes of love, betrayal, childbirth and the complexities of raising children. It is particularly noteworthy for the poem "Martha", in which Lorde poetically confirms her homosexuality: "[W]e shall love each other here if ever at all." Later books continued her political aims in lesbian and gay rights, and feminism. In 1980, together with Barbara Smith and Cherríe Moraga, she co-founded Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press, the first U.S. publisher for women of colour. Lorde was State Poet of New York from 1991 to 1992.
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Her second volume, Cables to Rage (1970), which was mainly written during her tenure at Tougaloo College in Mississippi, addressed themes of love, betrayal, childbirth and the complexities of raising children. It is particularly noteworthy for the poem "Martha", in which Lorde poetically confirms her homosexuality: "[W]e shall love each other here if ever at all." Later books continued her political aims in lesbian and gay rights, and feminism. In 1980, together with Barbara Smith and Cherríe Moraga, she co-founded Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press, the first U.S. publisher for women of colour. Lorde was State Poet of New York from 1991 to 1992.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
May 8, 2019
I don't know what to say other than I am deeply in love with Audre Lorde's words.
August 3, 2021
The anger feels nearly tangible and heartbreak is mused upon more. This book was both like and unlike the previous three I've read. Works I thought on: There Is More Than One Way To Skin A Coon, A Sewerplant Grows In Harlem, The Fallen, part IV of Blackstudies
May 15, 2017
This collection feels uneven to me in the same way that From a Land Where Other People Live does, but still, there are a number of poems here that I really like: One Year to Life on the Grand Central Shuttle; A Trip on the Staten Island Ferry; To the Girl Who Lives in a Tree; Memorial IV; Love Poem; Mentor; The Fallen; Naturally; Song for a Thin Sister; Revolution is One Form of Social Change; All Hallows Eve; Ballad from Childhood...
I think sometimes Lorde's poems swing in a direction that's difficult for me to understand--I can't quite grasp the imagery, and they feel less lyrical to me. I think she was at her best with those poems that almost have a taste to them. Then again, maybe I just need to spend more time with the others, or work a little harder at them.
Anyway, I haven't included a poem in my reviews of the last couple of books, partly because other people already had, and partly because I couldn't decide which ones I liked the best. But for whatever reason this is the one in this collection that I keep coming back to, so:
All Hallows Eve
My mother taught each one of us
to pray
as soon as we could talk
and every Halloween
to comfort us
before she went to work
my mother cooked fresh pumpkin with brown sugar
and placing penny candles in our windows
she said her yearly prayers
for all our dead.
As soon as mother left us
we feasted on warm pumpkin
until the empty pot sang out its earthy smell
and then, our mouths free,
we told each other stories of other Halloweens
making our wishes true
while from our windows
we watched the streets grow dark
and the witches slowly gathering below.
In each window
a penny candle in its own dish of water
flickered around our tales
throughout the evening.
Most of them burnt down
before our stories ended
and we went to bed
without replacing them.
Next up: Coal.
I think sometimes Lorde's poems swing in a direction that's difficult for me to understand--I can't quite grasp the imagery, and they feel less lyrical to me. I think she was at her best with those poems that almost have a taste to them. Then again, maybe I just need to spend more time with the others, or work a little harder at them.
Anyway, I haven't included a poem in my reviews of the last couple of books, partly because other people already had, and partly because I couldn't decide which ones I liked the best. But for whatever reason this is the one in this collection that I keep coming back to, so:
All Hallows Eve
My mother taught each one of us
to pray
as soon as we could talk
and every Halloween
to comfort us
before she went to work
my mother cooked fresh pumpkin with brown sugar
and placing penny candles in our windows
she said her yearly prayers
for all our dead.
As soon as mother left us
we feasted on warm pumpkin
until the empty pot sang out its earthy smell
and then, our mouths free,
we told each other stories of other Halloweens
making our wishes true
while from our windows
we watched the streets grow dark
and the witches slowly gathering below.
In each window
a penny candle in its own dish of water
flickered around our tales
throughout the evening.
Most of them burnt down
before our stories ended
and we went to bed
without replacing them.
Next up: Coal.
February 4, 2021
“There was nothing furtive about the swirls
of neon-bright magenta
prancing off your fingertips
like ideal selves”
of neon-bright magenta
prancing off your fingertips
like ideal selves”
June 10, 2021
More good stuff from Audre Lorde. I would love to take a class on her work from someone who knows, but I receive enough to enjoy most of these. Favorite poem award for this collection goes to Bees!
August 19, 2021
I hope with love.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 18, 2021
This collection shockingly didn't continue the upward trejactory that I experienced whilst reading some of Lorde's ealrier collections.
February 2, 2023
-And Don't Think I Won't Be Waiting
-Separation
-Revolution Is One Form Of Social Change
-Separation
-Revolution Is One Form Of Social Change
August 23, 2023
I think love poem broke me
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews