Zami: A New Spelling of My Name (Crossing Press Feminist Series)
by Audre Lordepublished
December 1983
by Crossing Press
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binding
Paperback, 256 pages
isbn
0895941228
(isbn13: 9780895941220)
description
Lorde's self-named "biomythography"
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Read in September, 2007
recommends it for:
everybody
Audre Lorde recounts the first half of her life in an amazing blend of her own poetry, popular songs, journal entries, and memories that are startling in their exactness and fairness. Her ability to recount her extreme loneliness and desire for companionship at being Black in gay scenes, gay in Black crowds and female and working class in the U.S. Her amazing sympathy for the women and men whom she loved and hurt/was hurt by is a testament to her desire to create great networks and bridges betwe...more
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in January, 2001
recommends it for:
Anyone
Audre Lorde's beatiful autobiography of her child- and early-adulthood. She's been prized for her "sensuality" in writing but this is no chicklit - her account of the lesbian bar scene in 1950's America will fascinate anyone interested in these forgotten pockets of culture. After reading it, what most amazed me about her was her unpretensiousness and her willingness to expose herself completely. Few writers have been so insightful when talking about themselves.
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1 comments
recommends it for:
all black lesbians and their allies
this is my favorite audre lorde book. it was so interesting to read about her life growing up in harlem and her coming out process in the 1950s... it explores racism within the gay community, heterosexism and homophobia in society as a whole... and is just an overall great story of a woman's journey of self-discovery. anyone - straight/gay/queer/whatevah - has something to relate to in this book.
AUDRE LORDE is the shiznit!
AUDRE LORDE is the shiznit!
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Read in April, 2003
recommends it for:
All my QOC family *heart* xoxo
Zami is poetry in motion and it never fails to move. Audre Lorde is also another one of my favorite authors (including two I've already mentioned, Alice Walker and Sherman Alexie). Lorde inspires me to be a better person all around becasue as she stumbles and struggles through this book, it is as if you are there with her, making your own strides in the process. I give thanks in Lordes spirit, and for not being afraid to love love love.
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Read in January, 1998
recommends it for:
feminist, people of color, feminists of colore
I'm not sure what I should say about this book, other than that it should be read by every feminist and person of color. It is an excellent book.
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Fabulous autobiographical story. I read it in one day. It made me want to travel to South America and New York City.
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1 comments
Read in November, 2007
If I could give this book 3 1/2 stars, I would. There's no question that Audre Lorde was an incredible writer and innovator. Lorde radicalized feminist and LGBTQ movements by pointing out the systematic racism informing both groups. As a queer woman, she challenged patriarchal and homophobic norms within the Civil Rights and antiracist movements. I've loved her essays and poetry, both of which informed me of a feminism that could transcend the feminisms of Gloria Steinem, Betty Freidan, and ...more
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recommended to Catherine by:
College professor
recommends it for: Adults
recommends it for: Adults
Lord is a wonderful writer. I loved the book, but like others who have posted, I thought the lesbian love scenes had a little too much information for me. The accounts of her childhood are touching and thought provoking.
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My mom recommended this book...um yeah, it's a "biomythography" by Audre Lorde. It's another book about being gay and black. She seems to have a lot of those... It is very similar to Black Lesbian in White America, because it talks about her loneliness and feeling of isolation. I had a hard time getting through it because it moves so quickly, and yet so slowly chronicling every little detail. It is a lot of information to take in and te pages always seem a lot longer than they actually...more
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From the Assata Co-op recommended reading list. (Madison, WI) An essential on my bookshelf.
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Read in September, 2008
recommends it for:
lesbians
I really enjoyed the first 2/3 of the book, but then the last third I just couldn't get into. Maybe it's because I am not lesbian myself and that I cannot appreciate sleeping around and having three-ways with other women and going to "gay-girl" bars, as she puts it. Because that is all that happens in the last section of the book. I think this progression into slutty-lesbianhood really turned me off from the author. Otherwise, most of the book was very good.
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once again, Audre Lorde finds so many ways to say the hardest things
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Read in January, 1998
An "automythography" that is a wondeful accounting of a life with beautiful language. Unique.
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I am so glad that I decided to read this! It is an incredible book! I was completely pulled in. I found it to be very vivid, I was pulled into her world. It wass hard for me to put this book down!
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