A soaring, sensual coming-of-age novel, by the legendary 'Black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet'.
If I didn't define myself for myself, I would be crunched into other people's fantasies for me and eaten alive.
A little black girl opens her eyes in 1930s Harlem. Around her, a heady swirl of passers-by, car horns, kerosene lamps, the stock market falling, fried bananas, tales of her parents' native Grenada. She trudges to public school along snowy sidewalks, and finds she is tongue-tied, legally blind, left behind by her older sisters. On she stumbles through teenage hardships -- suicide, abortion, hunger, a Christmas spent alone -- until she emerges into happiness: an oasis of friendship in Washington Heights, an affair in a dirty factory in Connecticut, and, finally, a journey down to the heat of Mexico, discovering sex, tenderness, and suppers of hot tamales and cold milk. This is Audre Lorde's story. It is a rapturous, life-affirming tale of independence, love, work, strength, sexuality and change, rich with poetry and fierce emotional power.
Industry Reviews
I came across Audre Lorde's Zami, and I cried to think how lucky I was to have found her. She was an inspiration. At last I felt I fitted in. -- Jackie Kay
Excellent and evocative... personal honesty and lack of pretentiousness shine through the writing. Her experiences are painted with exquisite imagery * The New York Times *
Zami is important because of its descriptions of growing up a black lesbian feminist in the 1950s, with open, unapologetic, vivid descriptions of women's relationships * Guardian *
Her work is so quotable. It has the zeitgeist factor. Now, just as much as ever, we need the voice of Audre Lorde * New Statesman *
I have an Audre Lorde google alert on my phone. It helps confirm how relevant my favorite black, lesbian, mother, warrior poet remains today * Huffington Post *
Audre Lorde says it best * Refinery29 *
Lorde's examination of her multiple outsiderness pried my sheltered mind wide open -- Alison Bechdel, author of Fun Home (in 'My Ten Favorite Books,' New York Times Magazine)
Zami is just the best * Vice *
Zami made me realise that I was not alone ... that I, too, could be as courageous and as loud with my truths * Elle Magazine *
Zami feels larger than life - almost legendary - while remaining grounded, intimate and moving * Cosmopolitan *
The truth of her writing is as necessary today as it's ever been * Guardian *
