Dear All,

As I said quite sometime ago in class, I’d like us to read Audre Lorde’s piece, ” Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic as Power”. It’s short but if you have time, read it more than one time: there’s something new in there each time. I’ve uploaded a version  in our Drop Box.

Below are the additional pieces from Lorde that I think can relate to the subject:

Audre Lorde, Adrienne Rich. “‘An Interview with Audre Lorde’ (1981).” Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches, Crossing Press Berkeley, pp. 81-109.

Lorde, Audre. “‘Age, Race, Class, and Sex: Women Redefining Difference.’ (1980).” Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches, Crossing Press Berkeley, 2007, pp. 114–23.

—. “‘Poetry Is Not a Luxury’. (1978): 36-39.” Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches, Crossing Press Berkeley, 2007, pp. 36-39.

—. “Scratching the Surface: Some Notes on Barriers to Women and Loving.” (1978).Crossing Press Berkeley, 2007, pp. 45-52.

—. Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches.Crossing Press Berkeley, 2007.

—. The Black Unicorn: Poems.WW Norton & Company, 1995.

—. “The Master’s Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master’s House.” Sisiter Outsider: Essays and Speeches, Crossing Press Berkeley, 2007, pp. 110-113.

—. “‘The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action’ (1977).” Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches, Crossing Press Berkeley, 2007, pp. 40-44.

—. “There Is No Hierarchy of Oppressions.” Homophobia and Education, vol. 14, no. 3/4, 1983, p. 9.

—. “Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic as Power.” Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches., Crossing Press Berkeley, 2007, pp. 53-59.

—. Zami: A New Spelling of My Name. Crossing Press/ Trumansburg, New York, 1982.

After reading Lorde’s Essay on “The Uses of the Erotic”, please watch Janelle Monáe latest video PYNK and see what links you can make between the two (2) products: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaYvlVR_BEc

See you in class!