One of the BBC's '100 Novels That Shaped Our World'
If I didn't define myself for myself, I would be crunched into other people's fantasies for me and eaten alive
A little black girl opens her eyes in 1930s Harlem, weak and half-blind. On she stumbles - through teenage pain and loneliness, but then to happiness in friendship, work and sex, from Washington Heights to Mexico, always changing, always strong. This is Audre Lorde's story. A rapturous, life-affirming autobiographical novel by the 'Black, lesbian, mother, warrior poet', it changed the literary landscape.
'Her work shows us new ways to imagine the world ... so many themes of Audre's work have endured' Renni Eddo Lodge, author of Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race
'I came across Audre Lorde's Zami, and I cried to think how lucky I was to have found her. She was an inspiration' Jackie Kay
I came across Audre Lorde's Zami, and I cried to think how lucky I was to have found her. She was an inspiration. At last I felt I fitted in. -- Jackie Kay
Excellent and evocative... personal honesty and lack of pretentiousness shine through the writing. Her experiences are painted with exquisite imagery ― The New York Times
Zami is important because of its descriptions of growing up a black lesbian feminist in the 1950s, with open, unapologetic, vivid descriptions of women's relationships ― Guardian
Her work is so quotable. It has the zeitgeist factor. Now, just as much as ever, we need the voice of Audre Lorde ― New Statesman
I have an Audre Lorde google alert on my phone. It helps confirm how relevant my favorite black, lesbian, mother, warrior poet remains today ― Huffington Post
Audre Lorde says it best ― Refinery29
Lorde's examination of her multiple outsiderness pried my sheltered mind wide open -- Alison Bechdel, author of Fun Home (in ‘My Ten Favorite Books,’ New York Times Magazine)
Zami is just the best ― Vice
Zami made me realise that I was not alone ... that I, too, could be as courageous and as loud with my truths ― Elle Magazine
Zami feels larger than life - almost legendary - while remaining grounded, intimate and moving ― Cosmopolitan
The truth of her writing is as necessary today as it's ever been ― Guardian
