Coal

“Coal” by Audre Lorde was originally published in her 1968 book The First Cities, which was her first full-length collection of poems. A revised version of “Coal” was published in her 1976 book with the same title (Coal). Both versions appear in The Collected Poems of Audre Lorde, published in 1997. The earlier version is reprinted on the Poetry Foundation website. “Coal” is often considered Lorde’s defining and most famous poem. She was a key figure in the recent history of African American and lesbian poetry.

“Coal” is a free-verse poem with 26 lines broken into three stanzas. The stanzas and lines both vary in length. In “Coal,” Lorde investigates the themes of Blackness and beauty; the power of words and speech; and the quality of openness.

Poet Biography

Audre Lorde was born as Audrey Geraldine Lorde in 1934 in New York City. Her parents were immigrants from the Caribbean islands, and Audre had two older sisters. Audre was extremely nearsighted—enough to be classified as legally blind. While attending Hunter High School, her poetry was published for the first time in Seventeen magazine.

After earning her bachelor of arts degree from Hunter College and her master's degree in library science from Columbia University, Lorde became a librarian in the New York public schools.