Audre Lorde

Audre Lorde (1934–1992) was an American poet, essayist, theorist, and activist. Born in Harlem to Caribbean immigrant parents, she studied at Columbia University, worked as a librarian, and later taught English literature and creative writing at Hunter College in New York. From 1984 to 1992, she regularly spent time in Berlin, including as a guest professor at the Free University of Berlin. Lorde published collections of poetry and essays as well as autobiographical works, including Sister Outsider and Zami. She is regarded as a major voice of Black feminism. In 1991, she received the Walt Whitman Citation of Merit and was appointed New York State Poet for the 1991–1993 term. Lorde died on Saint Croix in 1992.