Summary:
The introduction to Sister Outsider was written by Nancy K. Bereano, Lorde's editor, who founded the feminist press Firebrand Books. Bereano begins her introduction by mentioning Audre Lorde's own assertion— long after she had committed to publishing Sister Outsider— that she was not a theorist at all, but rather a poet. Yet, Bereano points out, Lorde's own work has time and time again questioned the barrier between poetry and theory. Poetry is considered a product of raw emotion, whereas theory and academic work is thought of as logical and objective. And yet, Bereano writes, this split between logic and emotion is at best arbitrary, invented and enforced by a white supremacist patriarchy that benefits from restriction the thought processes and inventiveness of those whom it oppresses. In fact, Bereano makes the case that feminism is essentially oriented towards finding and nurturing connections. In the service of this work, which is here characterized as "wholeness," it is perfectly sensible to ask a well-known poet to expound upon her ideas in a more theoretical framework.
Bereano then steps into the first person to tell readers about her own connection to some of Lorde's work. She speaks about her fear of raising a son in a patriarchal society, coming to terms with the inevitability of his maleness regardless of his own mother's devotion to feminism. Lorde's essay about her own experience of raising a son, "Man Child: A Black Lesbian Feminist's Response," offered fresh insight into Bereano's own concerns. She explains how both her differences from and similarities to Lorde allowed the essay to strike her in varying ways. For instance, though Bereano and Lorde were both woman, lesbians, and mothers, Bereano was white and Lorde Black. Reading Lorde's perspective on raising a Black child in a white society granted Bereano perspective on her own position as a mother. Bereano was also able to apply Lorde's thinking to her experience as the mother of a Jewish child, though Lorde was not Jewish herself.
Bereano then discusses Lorde's essay "The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action." This essay, written after Lorde was diagnosed with cancer, describes her process of coming to terms with the need to speak out and describe her own suffering. The essay, Bereano writes, elucidates the truth that staying silent cannot grant protection from suffering or fear. In fact, speaking out can help individuals move past their fear and create space in their lives for meaningful action. It is through the act of speaking or, in the case of this collection, writing, that individuals can offer their own experiences up to help others. In this way, connections are built and feminism is advanced.
Analysis:
This introduction gives readers a lens through which to approach and understand this diverse collection of Audre Lorde's writings. Connection, Bereano asserts, is at the heart of both the feminist movement in general and Lorde's work more specifically. Bereano starts by giving us a formal problem relating to connectedness: the issue of genre. If patriarchy encourages division, between people but also between the practices of prose-writing and poetry-writing, then feminism must reevaluate the necessity of these divisions and bring genres of writing into conversation. Distinct genres aren't the only things that must be connected: individuals from different backgrounds need to be placed in conversation. Therefore, Bereano, who is not Black, learns about her place in the world from reading Lorde's writings on Black motherhood. Through the lens of wholeness and connection, difference becomes not a source of division but a valuable part of a diverse, intertwined world in which individuals learn from one another. This claim also subtly encourages readers who might not typically identify with a Black, Lesbian feminist to engage with Lorde's work. Finally, Bereano suggests, the very act of writing is a way of building connections. Bereano emphasizes the specificity of Lorde's experiences, and the value to be found in them but she also implies that bearing the weight of one's own unique experiences, traumas, and worries only gives more power to them. Instead, according to Lorde, problems must be confronted head-on and put into words. In doing so, they become possible to solve.
