| Title | : | A Burst of Light |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0932379397 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780932379399 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 134 |
| Publication | : | First published April 1, 1988 |
| Awards | : | American Book Award (1989), Lambda Literary Award Lesbian Nonfiction (1989) |
A Burst of Light Reviews
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This book was a revelation of timeless brilliance from an intersectional feminist I can only strive to take lessons from! Highly recommended for anyone committed to social justice efforts!
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Audre Lorde is a genius and never misses the target. Even now, thirty years after her passing, her words ring relevant and true. Her words and mind and mission remain unparalleled.
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Another incredible collection examining sex industry, apartheid, lesbian parenting and reality of cancer. Bold, transformative and powerful. I can't recommend Audre Lorde strongly enough. She has always held a special place in my heart with her elegant and simulating messages of racism and women empowerment. One of the most powerful civil right activists I've ever known - she is very focused and has an effective clarity on what she wants to achieve and strategically transforming it into a sustainable and continual effort in peace-building.
"If one black woman I do not know gains hope and strength from my story, then it has been worth the difficulty of telling." -
Now, there were quite a few genuinely good parts in this collection, but what soured it for me was an included interview titled, "Sadomasochism: Not About Condemnation (An Interview with Audre Lorde)" by
Susan Leigh Star. I won't get into the details of everything I disliked about it—the whole thing is available online so everyone can formulate their own judgement—but here's one paragraph that I particularly hated:The s/m concept of "vanilla" sex is sex devoid of passion. They are saying that there can be no passion without unequal power. That feels very sad and lonely to me, and destructive. The linkage of passion to dominance/subordination is the prototype of the heterosexual image of male-female relationships, one which justifies pornography. Women are supposed to love being brutalized. This is also the prototypical justification of all relationships of oppression—that the subordinate one who is "different" enjoys the inferior position.
I hate to be the kind of person to say "if you don't know what you're talking about, don't talk about it," but... that's really all I have to say. No one is saying that vanilla sex can't be passionate. Not all sadomasochistic activity involves a power imbalance. S&M and D/s are not the same thing, nor are they mutually inclusive. Lorde's assertion that a lesbian couple engaging in sadomasochistic activity would be following the "prototype of the heterosexual image of male-female relationships" is no better than a straight person assuming the butch in a butch/femme relationship is the "man" and the femme is the "woman." And the role of the submissive or subordinate within a BDSM context is not an "inferior" position—that person is actually the one in control of the scene, so the comparison makes absolutely no sense if you actually know how BDSM works.
At another point in the interview she says, "Sadomasochism is an institutionalized celebration of dominant/subordinate relationships. And it prepares us either to accept subordination or to enforce dominance. Even in play, to affirm that the exertion of power over powerlessness is erotic, is empowering, is to set the emotional and social stage for the continuation of that relationship, politically, socially, and economically." This feels incredibly infantilising. First of all, no, that's not what sadomasochism is. Second of all, no, it does not. Third of all, no, what is erotic within a controlled setting is not automatically going to be carried over into "real life," be that political, social, or economic. "Sadomasochism feeds the belief that domination is inevitable and legitimately enjoyable," says Lorde, someone who does not know what she is talking about. Hers is an uneducated and ill-informed argument. (At another point she asks, "Who profits from lesbians beating each other?" as though the answer weren't self-evident: the lesbians, obviously, because they think it's erotic. Also, not all sadomasochism involves "beating," and the implication that it does is little more than the conflation of BDSM and abuse, which is—and I really didn't think this would have to be said—nothing but damaging to actual victims of actual abuse.) "If it [sadomasochism] were only about personal sexual exchange or private taste, why would it be presented as a political issue?" says Lorde, in what is a shockingly ignorant statement. What the hell? Where did she get that from?! The exact same argument could be, and indeed often is, applied to queer sexuality.
"I ask myself, under close scrutiny, whether I am puritanical about this—and I have asked myself this very carefully—and the answer is no," Lorde says. Respectfully, I have to disagree. -
This is a updated and reissued version of her 1988 collection of essays. What's new here is an introduction by Sonia Sanchez, an interview about sadomasochism and three essays along with the original Burst of Light: Living with Cancer journal entries. This book illuminates her struggle against racism, sexism, homophobia and the liver cancer afflicting her body. And she put all of these struggles on the same plain, seeing them as equal. "Battling racism and battling heterosexism and battling apartheid share the same urgency inside me as battling cancer. None of these struggles are ever easy, and even the smallest victory is never to be taken for granted. Each victory must be applauded, because it is so easy not to battle at all, to just accept and call that acceptance inevitable."
Her essay writing is, forgive the cliché, poetic. Even the journal entries concerning her cancer battle and resistance, which takes up most of the book are sometimes sad but profoundly written. One of her most enduring quotes comes from this collection, "Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.” Through her writing you can sense and feel her struggle, almost as if she is thinking out loud but always representing for a fierce self-determination and self-identity that is empowering. Her words here are inspirational, loving, passionate and forever optimistic. An essay collection that belongs on your book shelf. Thanks to Netgalley and Dover Press for providing an advanced ebook in exchange for a fair and honest review. Book publishes Sept. 13, 2017 -
Phenomenal read! Very relevant to our current political, social, and economic climate even today. The tone feels as if it were written presently. A beautiful forward by Sonia Sanchez.
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Enjoyable and fairly brief collection, with her cancer journals taking up about 2/3 of the book and then a few essays/speeches added onto the beginning. I wouldn't say this is the best introduction to her work, but solid if you're more familiar with her. The only bit I really didn't like was the essay, "Sadomasochism: Not About Condemnation (An Interview with Audre Lorde)" by Susan Leigh Star, which felt pretty exactly like a condemnation. This really read like somebody who doesn't actually know much about BDSM or S/m because she was really conflating terms and making some pretty broad and sweeping claims. Frankly, her stance on this one shocked me, and not in a good way.
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Full review!
Format: eBook ARC from NetGalley
In this collection of essays and journal entries, originally published in 1988, Audre Lorde writes frankly, clearly, and with full humanity about her experience as a Black Lesbian woman and her second experience with cancer.
My initial impulse is to call this collection something like "transcendent" but honestly, that would not be accurate. Because while it has the insight, power, and clarity of a work that someone might describe as transcendent, that word would really mis-categorize this work. This is not a work meant to go beyond or transcend anything, but rather to shed an unflinching light on the reality of Lorde's experience. If this book is anything, it is very clearly grounded in reality and Lorde's ability to describe that reality in such beautiful and sometimes harsh terms illuminates the truths that she wants to highlight.
There is no hiding from the truths in this collection because the truths are not masked by any kind of metaphor and they are not softened by language. Lorde is demanding that readers understand what she is trying to say, she demands that readers recognize the truth of her experience (and the experience of other Black and Lesbian women in the USA and across the world) and that readers recognize the ways that they may be complicit in that social structure. She stands in front of you (and audiences within the stories of this book) and demands to know where exactly the consideration of her and other women like her is. Where are the black women? Have you considered how people of color have been made to suffer for you to stand where you are standing? How have you benefitted from racism, ableism, sexism, and heterosexism and are your current actions helping prop up those systems and tear them down?
Lorde demands that readers consider these questions, demands that I consider these questions.
I will also say what should really go unsaid, that Lorde is a truly spectacular writer with the ability to manipulate readers' emotions with razor-like precision. Though this is a skill she must have fine-tuned in her poetry, it also shines clearly through in this collection.
Although I received this book as an advanced copy for the new edition coming out this September, I will be purchasing a hard copy of the new edition when it becomes available. I gave this book a 5 out of 5 stars and I am excited to continue to explore Lorde's work.
Note: some of my reviews contain spoilers! -
This was a beautiful and sorrowful account of Audre Lorde’s battles with cancer, her reflections on the world around her, her children, her relationships. It included interviews and diary entry style writing and was pretty short. The entries were really beautifully read on audiobook by Robin Miles. It always shocks, but not surprises, me that these things written several decades ago are still so relevant, and just how much of the things I see in her writing we still see today.
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I had previously read bits and pieces of Audre Lorde, or seen her work referenced in other places, but this was my first time diving in. These essays were fascinating, beautifully written and inspiring. I found myself re-reading and marking down dozens of paragraphs throughout “Apartheid USA” and “A Burst of Light” (just see my Goodreads quotes page!) - such touching and formative writing for our time and for our movements, many of which continue to be led by powerful Black women.
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I feel so humbled and grateful that Audre Lorde shared some of her writing while battling cancer. This was an emotional and powerful read.
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This book was such a surprise. A Burst of Light is written by a Black Lesbian feminist and it includes a collection of her essays about fighting for civil rights and quite a bit about her journey with cancer. Her short essays on continuing her work with civil rights while coping with her own mortality and the final consequences of her fight with liver cancer are truly remarkable. Her essays really are bursts of light.
This book is a clear proclamation of intersectional feminism in its finest form. Anyone who is interested in social justice and civil rights, as well as how it affects women from diverse backgrounds should read Lorde's book. She never stopped - not even with cancer looming over her head and her last moments on Earth.
Best Takeaway Quotes
“I want to live the rest of my life, however long or short, with as much sweetness as I can decently manage, loving all the people I love, and doing as much as I can of the work I still have to do. I am going to write fire until it comes out my ears, my eyes, my noseholes—everywhere. Until it’s every breath I breathe. I’m going to go out like a fucking meteor!”
― Audre Lorde, A Burst of Light
“Battling racism and battling heterosexism and battling apartheid share the same urgency inside me as battling cancer. None of these struggles are ever easy, and even the smallest victory is never to be taken for granted. Each victory must be applauded, because it is so easy not to battle at all, to just accept and call that acceptance inevitable.” ― Audre Lorde, A Burst of Light
“I respect the time I spend each day treating my body, and I consider it part of my political work. It is possible to have some conscious input into our physical processes–not expecting the impossible, but allowing for the unexpected–a kind of training in self-love and physical resistance.” ― Audre Lorde, A Burst of Light
“To acknowledge privilege is the first step in making it available for wider use. Each of us is blessed in some particular way, whether we recognize our blessings or not.”
― Audre Lorde, A Burst of Light
“Living with cancer has forced me to consciously jettison the myth of omnipresence, of believing—or loosely asserting—that I can do anything, along with any dangerous illusion of immortality. Neither of these unscrutinized defenses is a solid base for either political activism or personal struggle. But in their place, another kind of power is growing, tempered and enduring, grounded within the realities of what I am in fact doing. Ann open-eyed assessment and appreciation of what I can and do accomplish, using who I am and who I most wish myself to be. To stretch as far as I can go and relish what is satisfying rather than what is sad. Building a strong and elegant pathway toward transition.”
― Audre Lorde, A Burst of Light -
Read this for the ONTD 2018 challenge. The theme was to read a book published in 1934 or written by an author born in 1934.
Being interested in intersectional feminism, as soon as I saw that Audre Lorde was born in 1934, I wanted to read one of her essay collections. Unfortunately, I've purchased far too many books recently and I'm trying to be a little more financially responsible: this book was the only work by Audre Lorde available at my public library.
I don't think that this anthology is the best introduction to Lorde's work. There's some great content here, but as a person currently going through cancer treatment, I found the title essay (which makes up about half the book) to be a little disappointing. This has inspired me to read more of her work, however, and as soon as I'm able, I will be picking up at least one of her poetry anthologies and probably one or two of her other books, like Sister Outsider or The Cancer Journals. -
My five star ranking is based on the superb quality of Lorde’s concluding essay, “A Burst of Light: Living with Cancer.” These pages are suffused with Lorde’s tenderness, spirituality, and wisdom. I read about her doctor appointments and her approach to her illness and suddenly am stunned by a moment between Lorde and the moon. I wonder if I have ever read as beautiful an appreciation of life. Unforgettable.
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I wish I could give 7 stars.
The best part of this collection are the journal excerpts detailing the years surrounding the reemergence of Lorde's cancer. She articulates with power and grace and love the difficulty of facing one's own death, her determination to bring all her selves to the battle with cancer, same as the battle against racism, homophobia, sexism. She's a titan, and one whose feet I'd like to remain sitting at as I learn how to go about living my own life. Read this. -
It should be no surprise, I suppose that a poet is able to write so aptly, so beautifully, in such a relatable way about living with terminal illness. It was this that I got so much out of while reading this book, living as I am, too, with a life limiting illness. I’m not even sure Audre herself realized while writing it how much her words would mean not just to the black women facing cancer she so hoped to help but also to women from other backgrounds with completely different illnesses but I think it’s clear she’s more than achieved that goal she states in the book she’s living for. And what a testament to the power of her words that I found myself moved and repeatedly highlighting them, as someone who wasn’t even born until a few years after they were written.
This was my first time reading a full work of Lorde’s and I’ve seen it said not to start here and maybe that’s true for most but it worked for me. The opening interview is utterly dated and while the other pieces were interesting, clearly it was the title portion, the passages from her journals about the reemergence of her cancer and the choices she makes and things she faces that spoke to me the most.
Earlier in the book I found myself reflecting on feminism today and how I wished Audre was still alive because I wanted to write her and ask her about her thoughts. I told a friend I so envied the kind of community of strong women she had surrounded herself with, what a nurturing and empowering and intentional black, feminist, lesbian community she had. That how I remember being a kid and looking to second wave feminism and the community aspect of it and I suppose a part of me just took for granted that one day I could have that. Yet while somewhere in the normalization and spread of feminism it’s in ways become shallower and while we are more intersectional we also may be more divisive than ever. Maybe it’s the internet, since it seems to be the primary space we meet now. I couldn’t help but wonder what Audre would think of feminism in today’s world. Or where the LGBTQ+ movement has gone and all its achieved. And being sick especially, I only wish I had the kind of community Lorde writes so poignantly of fighting her own urge towards isolationism (something I know far too well) to be with and to rely on.
So this book gave me lots to think on and the second half, the Burst or Light portion was far and above the rest for me and spoke to me deeply. I was on a library waitlist for months for my copy too so I’m glad so many others are reading these words. Im glad I read them too. -
When it comes to those of us who are on the spectrum of injustice (so everyone minus cis straight white men) – I find it depressingly sad that those of us near the top who as Lorde says, are marginal in only one respect, can so easily disregard those of us who have experienced differing and always worse degrees of the oppression we are working to alleviate. The struggles for social justice are not isolated. Feminism spearheaded by white women is going to get about as far as an LGBT movement spearheaded by white gays – not very far at all.
In 130 short pages, Audre, a proud Afro-Caribbean lesbian can certainly pack a punch and drill this very point home. Not only do I respect deeply the work and trials she faced in her life, but I respect the resilience and unwavering characteristics that were more than evident in the way she presented herself, and beliefs. Amidst great struggle, both personal and social – her work while based on who she was – was completely directed at aiding others who shared her struggle or were doing worse. If a black lesbian can identify multiple times her economic and geographic privilege – I think the rest of us can own up to the mountain of comfort we love to hide behind.
I also admire her courage. I can’t even imagine what it was like to be so proud about being who you are and pronouncing who you love in the mid 20th century, and the public harassment she faced on the daily. I can’t imagine facing that with the grace she did – especially considering that courage seemed to fail me over a series of years in the 21st century. Without her example, her work and her influence – a great many of us LGBT people may not have had the privilege to live in a world that may be an inch closer to fully accepting us as who we are – which is different than wanting to be the same.
So from all of us in the margins (deep in or toeing the line) – thank you Audre. Thank you for living without fear. Thank you for willing to be proud of your differences and countering the danger of heteronormativity. Thank you for standing by the importance of intersectionality. Thank you for loving so deeply. Thank you for your fire in life and in verse. Thank you for your legacy. I only hope we and specifically I can do you justice in the way I live. -
This was my first time reading Audre Lorde (finally!) and now I can't wait to devour everything she ever wrote. This was the kind of book that you end up highlighting so many great quotes, words you want to memorize, remember, apply, breathe. Lorde shines a light on white feminism and shows us how to persist when the struggle never seems to end - not only as an intersectional feminist, an activist, but also as a person fighting cancer. Empowering read.
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Mother Audre, I was afraid to speak my mind, but you taught me many ways to channel my creative energy. When I look at the stars, I know that you're the brightest--smiling at me from afar. Your final essay, A Burst Of Light made me cry; I felt your pain and your determination not to let it steal from you physically or energetically. I miss you. We shall meet again.
I look forward to reading more of your work.
Yours Truly,
Jay Miche. -
A reissuing of Lorde's essays including journal entries over three years when she found out she had liver cancer. Lorde's words, as ever, are poignant and hit you at the bone. Her words embrace you and enlighten you and is accessible in a way some essayists weren't always at the time. And of course what she says stands true to this day. Required reading.
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this is a reissue and it's great! I forgot that I'd actually read this before, in college - I think as individual essays instead of as a collection, though. The one thing I'd suggest is that if you haven't read Lorde before to start with the final essay (really a series of diary entries), "A Burst Of Light," then go back to read the ones at the front of the book.
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”I want to live the rest of my life, however long or short, with as much sweetness as I can decently manage, loving all the people I love, and doing as much as I can of the work I still have to do. I am going to write fire until it comes out my ears, my eyes, my noseholes—everywhere. Until it’s every breath I breathe. I’m going to go out like a fucking meteor!”
4.5 stars -
She has some spicy thoughts as expected of such a revolutionary person. I certainly don’t fall in step with some of her logic but I really respect the way she dissects issues and even dissects herself. This book of essays allowed me a look into her mind, into her most fragile moments and I finished it feeling very close to her.
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(I received a free copy from Net Gallery in exchange for an honest review.)
A beautifully personal and deeply poetic collection of writing that gives you a vastly important perspective on a variety of important subjects, I loved it -
I’m thrilled to have chosen this Audiobook as the narrator has done a fantastic job of being clear and crisp. I give it 3 stars for being informative, well descriptive and a fresh approach to this subject.
How well do I know who you are? Is the best way I could summarize my review on this audiobook. A collection of essays is a collection of prose that focuses on the experiences and beliefs of Audre Lorde, a self proclaimed Black Lesbian Feminist poet. For a new comer to this subject, this book is full of interesting information told from Lorde’s view point.
“To acknowledge privilege is the first step in making it available for wider use. Each of us is blessed in some particular way, whether we recognize our blessings or not.“.
Although the reader, especially if not a woman of color, may at times feel disconnected from the author and quite possibly derided by her attitude, at the very least from this book the reader abstracts another person’s view on subjects such as lesbian sadomasochism, stereotypes, child rearing, and apartheid. More importantly, the reader gains insight into one Black Lesbian Feminist’s life in the 1980’s.
It reminds me and shall do the same for other readers too, that Lorde expresses ideas about a topic which are important to consider, as she represents a part of the population that is not always heard from.
If we need to understand anything at all, it’s here where we need to begin….understanding our fellow humans. Our voice tells others who we are. -
“For the first time I really feel that my writing has a substance and stature that will survive me.” Oh how Audre Lorde’s writing has survived her.
I adored this book. This is the first of Lorde’s work that I’ve read and I certainly intend to read more. Her writing is so powerful and it left be breathless at times. I loved these essays and journal entries. I loved reading about Audre Lorde’s experiences as a black lesbian. I loved her journal entries as she documents her battles while living with cancer. I have such an appreciation for her thoughts and simply who she was as a woman. I also learned that she has Caribbean roots and I was so pleasantly surprised!
Heavy topics are not shied away from in this book and I will never get over the boldness with which they are written. I haven’t read many non-fiction, but so far, this is one that I want to reread over and over again.
I cannot wait to dive into more of her work. -
nearly 40 years old, still relevant :(
"i revel in the beauty of the faces of black women at labor and at rest. i make, demand, translate satisfactions out of every ray of sunlight, scrap of bright cloth, beautiful sound, delicious smell that comes my way, out of every sincere smile and good wish. they are discreet bits of ammunition in my arsenal against despair. they all contribute to the strengthening of my determination to persevere when the greyness overwhelms, or reagonomics wears me down. they whisper to me of joy when the light is dim, when i falter, when another black child is gunned down from behind in crossroads or newark or lynched from a tree in memphis, and when the health orchestration gets boring or depressing or just plain too much." -
Lorde wrote the collected essays/journal entries while facing a terminal liver cancer diagnosis. I was surprised to learn she lived another 6 yrs after this was written! Lots of gems. Here a a couple:
"We are the women we want to become."
"Living fully- how long is no longer the point. How and why take total precendence."
And perhaps most relevant right now (this was written in 1986):
"To acknowledge privilege is the first step in making it available for wider use. Each of us is blessed in some particular way, whether we recognize our blessings or not. And each one of us, somewhere in our lives, must clear a space within that blessing where she can call upon whatever resources are available to her in the name of something that must be done."
