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Your Silence Will Not Protect You
Your Silence Will Not Protect You is a 2017 posthumous collection of essays, speeches, and poems by African American author and poet Audre Lorde. It is the first time a British publisher collected Lorde's work into one volume. The collection focuses on key themes such as: shifting language into action, silence as a form of violence, and the importance of history. Lorde describes herself as a "Black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet", and addresses the difficulties in communication between Black and white women.
The collection is made up of five sections: a preface by Reni Eddo-Lodge, an introduction by Sara Ahmed, 13 essays, 17 poems, and a Note on the Text. As the Note on the Text states, many of the essays in the collection were given as papers at conferences across the U.S. The essays were all previously published in Lorde's 1984 book Sister Outsider. Further, Lorde often revised early poems and re-published them, so many of the poems in this collection are the latest versions of Lorde's work.
Your Silence Will Not Protect You was published posthumously in order to bring together Lorde's essential poetry, speeches, and essays, into one volume for the first time. As Silver Press states, "Her extraordinary belief in the power of language – of speaking – to articulate selfhood, confront injustice and bring about change in the world remains as transformative today as it was then, and no less urgent".
"Your Silence Will Not Protect You" is a quote from the first essay to appear in the collection, "The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action". She states, "My silences had not protected me. Your silences will not protect you". This references her belief in speaking for oneself and taking language into action.
In "The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action", Lorde discussed various themes that recur throughout the book, including silence as a form of violence, shifting language into action, and the splintering of the feminist movement. She argued that using her voice to speak and connect with other women during her treatment gave her strength, "I am not a casualty, I am also a warrior".
"Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic as Power" discussed how each person has both used and unused types of power. She speaks to the dichotomy of sexuality, and in particular how women have been suppressed from utilizing its power. "We have been taught to suspect this resource, vilified, abused, and devalued within western society". She also argued that erotic connection can be used as a form of exploration for self-expression, "In touch with the erotic, I become less willing to accept powerlessness...such as resignation, despair, self-effacement, depression, self-denial".
"A Conversation between Audre Lorde and Adrienne Rich" discussed different periods in Lorde's life, and her struggles with family, writing, and teaching. At one point, she discusses how Black women were sexually assaulted and harmed during times of revolution. She recalls, "And while we’d be trying to speak to them as women, all we’d hear is, "The revolution is here, right?'. Seeing how Black women were being used and abused was painful”. She also highlights the differences in protecting one's communities, "And this is what happens between Black men and women because we have perfected certain kinds of weapons that white women and men have not shared".
"The Master's Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master's House" is a commentary on a speech Lorde gave at The Second Sex Conference at New York University in 1978. She criticizes the lack of representation for "poor women, Black women, Third World Women, and lesbians", having been asked to speak at 'The Personal and the Political' panel. She argued that those who are poor, Black, older, lesbians, and the different intersections of these groups, have been made to stand alone and unpopular. She states, "For the master's tools will never dismantle the master's house. They may allow us temporarily to beat him at his own game, but they will never enable us to bring about genuine change". Lorde called for recognition and representation of the differences between women, in an effort to fight inequality and survival.
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Your Silence Will Not Protect You
Your Silence Will Not Protect You is a 2017 posthumous collection of essays, speeches, and poems by African American author and poet Audre Lorde. It is the first time a British publisher collected Lorde's work into one volume. The collection focuses on key themes such as: shifting language into action, silence as a form of violence, and the importance of history. Lorde describes herself as a "Black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet", and addresses the difficulties in communication between Black and white women.
The collection is made up of five sections: a preface by Reni Eddo-Lodge, an introduction by Sara Ahmed, 13 essays, 17 poems, and a Note on the Text. As the Note on the Text states, many of the essays in the collection were given as papers at conferences across the U.S. The essays were all previously published in Lorde's 1984 book Sister Outsider. Further, Lorde often revised early poems and re-published them, so many of the poems in this collection are the latest versions of Lorde's work.
Your Silence Will Not Protect You was published posthumously in order to bring together Lorde's essential poetry, speeches, and essays, into one volume for the first time. As Silver Press states, "Her extraordinary belief in the power of language – of speaking – to articulate selfhood, confront injustice and bring about change in the world remains as transformative today as it was then, and no less urgent".
"Your Silence Will Not Protect You" is a quote from the first essay to appear in the collection, "The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action". She states, "My silences had not protected me. Your silences will not protect you". This references her belief in speaking for oneself and taking language into action.
In "The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action", Lorde discussed various themes that recur throughout the book, including silence as a form of violence, shifting language into action, and the splintering of the feminist movement. She argued that using her voice to speak and connect with other women during her treatment gave her strength, "I am not a casualty, I am also a warrior".
"Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic as Power" discussed how each person has both used and unused types of power. She speaks to the dichotomy of sexuality, and in particular how women have been suppressed from utilizing its power. "We have been taught to suspect this resource, vilified, abused, and devalued within western society". She also argued that erotic connection can be used as a form of exploration for self-expression, "In touch with the erotic, I become less willing to accept powerlessness...such as resignation, despair, self-effacement, depression, self-denial".
"A Conversation between Audre Lorde and Adrienne Rich" discussed different periods in Lorde's life, and her struggles with family, writing, and teaching. At one point, she discusses how Black women were sexually assaulted and harmed during times of revolution. She recalls, "And while we’d be trying to speak to them as women, all we’d hear is, "The revolution is here, right?'. Seeing how Black women were being used and abused was painful”. She also highlights the differences in protecting one's communities, "And this is what happens between Black men and women because we have perfected certain kinds of weapons that white women and men have not shared".
"The Master's Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master's House" is a commentary on a speech Lorde gave at The Second Sex Conference at New York University in 1978. She criticizes the lack of representation for "poor women, Black women, Third World Women, and lesbians", having been asked to speak at 'The Personal and the Political' panel. She argued that those who are poor, Black, older, lesbians, and the different intersections of these groups, have been made to stand alone and unpopular. She states, "For the master's tools will never dismantle the master's house. They may allow us temporarily to beat him at his own game, but they will never enable us to bring about genuine change". Lorde called for recognition and representation of the differences between women, in an effort to fight inequality and survival.