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Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches

Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 1984

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Book Brief

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Audre Lorde

Sister Outsider

Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 1984
Book Details
Pages

190

Format

Book • Nonfiction

Setting

1980s

Publication Year

1984

Audience

Adult

Recommended Reading Age

18+ years

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Super Short Summary

Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches by Audre Lorde, published in 1984, is a collection of essays and speeches that addresses racism, sexism, patriarchy, anti-gay bias, heterosexism, and classism, emphasizing women's roles and solidarity among disparate groups. Through reflections on travel experiences and deeply personal essays, Lorde advocates for integrating emotion and feeling into the struggle against oppression to foster connections and effect change.

Informative

Contemplative

Inspirational

Emotional

Challenging

Reviews & Readership

4.7

39,379 ratings

91%

Loved it

7%

Mixed feelings

2%

Not a fan

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Review Roundup

Audre Lorde's Sister Outsider is lauded for its powerful prose, incisive social critique, and intersectional analysis, particularly regarding race, gender, and sexuality. Readers appreciate its lyrical writing and deep insights, though some might find the essays dense and challenging. Overall, it is praised as a seminal work that remains profoundly relevant.

Who should read this

Who Should Read Sister Outsider?

A reader who would enjoy Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde is likely engaged in social justice, feminism, and intersectionality. They may also appreciate works like Women, Race & Class by Angela Davis and Gender Trouble by Judith Butler. This reader values powerful, poetic, and thought-provoking exploration of race, gender, and sexuality.

4.7

39,379 ratings

91%

Loved it

7%

Mixed feelings

2%

Not a fan

Character List

Audre Lorde

A profoundly influential Black lesbian poet and scholar committed to combatting racism, sexism, and homophobia, known for her work in poetry and prose, including her integral role in feminist discourse which is reflected throughout her writings.

A researcher and sociologist recognized for his extensive work on Black family life, notably involved in a scholarly exchange with Audre Lorde on the intersections and tension between Black feminism and Black masculinity.

A radical feminist theologian whose work focuses on deconstructing androcentrism, engaged in a notable exchange with Lorde addressing issues of racial exclusion in feminist thought.

An acclaimed poet and essayist known for her feminist perspectives and advocacy for intersectionality, her interactions with Lorde reveal shared commitments to racial solidarity within the feminist movement.

A Brazilian educator and philosopher whose ideas on critical pedagogy and the role of oppressed people in their own liberation are referenced by Lorde as central to understanding and resisting oppression.

The revolutionary leader of Grenada known for his Marxist-Leninist governance and progressive socio-political reforms, discussed by Audre Lorde in the context of her critique of American imperialism and racism.

Book Details
Pages

190

Format

Book • Nonfiction

Setting

1980s

Publication Year

1984

Audience

Adult

Recommended Reading Age

18+ years

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