Quotes By Audre Lorde

Art is not living. It is the use of living.

When we speak we are afraid our words will not be heard or welcomed. But when we are silent, we are still afraid. So it is better to speak.

I can't really define it in sexual terms alone although our sexuality is so energizing why not enjoy it too?

I have come to believe over and over again that what is most important to me must be spoken, made verbal and shared, even at the risk of having it bruised or misunderstood.

When we create out of our experiences, as feminists of color, women of color, we have to develop those structures that will present and circulate our culture.

Poetry is not only dream and vision; it is the skeleton architecture of our lives. It lays the foundations for a future of change, a bridge across our fears of what has never been before.

I remember how being young and black and gay and lonely felt. A lot of it was fine, feeling I had the truth and the light and the key, but a lot of it was purely hell.

Part of the lesbian consciousness is an absolute recognition of the erotic within our lives and, taking that a step further, dealing with the erotic not only in sexual terms.

When I use my strength in the service of my vision it makes no difference whether or not I am afraid.

We have to consciously study how to be tender with each other until it becomes a habit because what was native has been stolen from us, the love of Black women for each other.

But the true feminist deals out of a lesbian consciousness whether or not she ever sleeps with women.

Your silence will not protect you.

It's a struggle but that's why we exist, so that another generation of Lesbians of color will not have to invent themselves, or their history, all over again.