Hanging Fire

“Hanging Fire” by Audre Lorde was published in her 1978 collection, titled The Black Unicorn, which was her seventh book of poems. Lorde’s first collection, The First Cities, had appeared a decade earlier in 1968. After The Black Unicorn, Lorde had two more books of poetry published in her lifetime. Her final book of poetry, The Marvelous Arithmetics of Distance, was published posthumously in 1993. “Hanging Fire” is a feminist, free-verse poem that includes the themes of Experiences of Adolescence, Racism in America, and Maternal Colorism and Neglect. The poem is informed by the Black feminist movement.

Poet Biography

In 1934, Audre Lorde was born as Audrey Geraldine Lorde in New York City. She attended Catholic schools and Hunter High School. While a student at the latter, she edited the school literary journal, and had her poetry published for the first time in Seventeen magazine. After obtaining her bachelor’s degree from Hunter College and completing her Masters of Library Science from Columbia University, Lorde worked as a librarian in the public school system of New York. She also spent a year studying at the National University of Mexico.

She married Edwin Rollins and had two children, Elizabeth and Jonathan.