Warrior Poet: A Biography of Audre Lorde

Alexis DeVeaux presents a comprehensive account of self-described feminist, lesbian, and poet warrior, Audre Lorde. The author pulls together a myriad of published documents, unpublished journal entries by Audre Lorde herself, and a host of interviews with personal friends and family members to create a well documented look at the poet's life. The book is divided into two major sections called "lives." The first life begins prior to Audre's birth, and highlights some aspects of her parent's early life, their eventual marriage and move from the Caribbean to the United States. This family background helps readers understand Audre's nearly lifelong quest to come to terms with her relationship with her often emotionally detached parents. This portion of the book also details information about Audre's childhood, educational background, and young adult life. We learn about Audre's marriage to a white, gay, man and their eventual divorce and follow her process of "coming out" regarding her own lesbianism. Her long-term relationship with a white woman, Frances Clayton, and the challenges associated with raising a bi-racial son and daughter in a lesbian household during an era of rampant, overt racism and sexism was also discussed. DeVeaux also takes time to highlight some of Audre Lorde's flaws, thus providing a somewhat more balanced view of the author. Her professional career as a poet develops slowly, and the evolution of her writing career parallels the evolution of her political views and personal growth. The second section of the book, "The Second Life," continues to explore her career development, chronicles her battles with cancer in more detail, and ends with her death. Audre Lorde supported freedom and equality for all, regardless of race, gender, class, or sexual orientation. However, because of her strong views and personal lifestyle, she often found herself on the fringes. Many white feminists were uncomfortable with her views on race, while those involved in the black power movement tended to be uncomfortable with her feminist ideology and her lesbianism. Yet she used her own struggles, particularly her battle with cancer, as a means to educate, motivate, and inspire. I enjoyed WARRIOR POET and was impressed by Alexis DeVeaux's attention to detail and the time she spent helping readers understand the social and political climate of the times. There were times when I felt she went a little too far "setting the stage" and wanted to read more about Audre and less about other poets, or politics. Audre seemed to use her identity to take on very public battles for women's rights, gay rights, and so forth. But I found myself wanting to know more about how her children handled their mother's public persona. I also wondered how her very conservative, Catholic mother and her other siblings responded to Audre's lifestyle, and this issue was surprisingly never addressed. In spite of its sometimes academic feel, this is a must rea