Poetry is Not a Luxury is renowned Black feminist, civil rights activist, and poet Audre Lorde’s influential essay. It argues against the notion that poetry is mere frivolity and is only for the privileged. Rather, Lorde argues that poetry is a powerful tool and a necessity for women to express profound social and political ideas that have remained latent or been decimated by the “white fathers”. It was first published in 1977 in the magazine Chrisalys.
Poetry is Not a Luxury | Summary
Lorde begins her essay by drawing a parallel between poetry and life; she argues that poetry is a form of illumination, a distillation of light that helps us make sense of ideas that one feels but cannot see or feel. Poetry makes the fears and silences that one has lived with forever lose their control over us.
She goes on to state that for women, there is a “dark place within” which has incredible potential for power and creativity and is “ancient”. If one were to live the European way, then they would forever privilege ideas over those dark places. But, in Lorde’s opinion, if women go back to their non-European consciousness, they will learn to cherish their feelings and be in touch with them, which will make life a sensory experience to be lived.
The fusion of ideas and feelings comes closest in poetry. She does not mean the poetry of the “white fathers,” which is mere wordplay, but she means it as a distillation of experience where things that have not been seen or given shape can be expressed and thus, felt. Therefore, she argues, for women, poetry is a vital necessity and not a luxury. All the hopes and fears women experience every day find expression in poetry, loosening their control over them. Thus, this gives rise to radical ideas and opinions, which translate into meaningful action. Poetry lays the foundation for change in society.
Women are often infantilized by men, thus their efforts for change can easily be neglected or diminished. She attacks the white fathers who said “I think, therefore I am”. But it was the Black mothers who said “I feel, therefore I can be free”. Poetry creates this language of freedom, which fuels revolutionary action.
Rather than seeking new ideas, Lorde encourages women to seek the old and forgotten ideas that will give them courage. She concludes her essay by saying that, as poets, women have felt all the pains there are and have hidden them in that dark, secret place. She urges women to feel those pains again to gain strength and courage. Poetry is a way of feeling the authentic ideas women have at different times and places of the day.
Poetry is Not a Luxury | Analysis
Lorde’s arguments in Poetry is Not a Luxury put forward the idea that poetry is directly linked to revolutionary actions and unlearning the hitherto existing discourse, which paints women as infantile or too submissive to their emotions. By using words like “vitality” and “necessity”, Lorde argues that poetry is essential for women to regain their strength and courage to unlearn patriarchal beliefs, largely those of the Europeans. Poetry is not an abstract or detached art form; it is deeply rooted in the lived experiences of the poet. She maintains that poetry emerges from a place of necessity, as a means of survival and self-expression for those who are oppressed. Poetry, for Lorde, is a way to reclaim one’s voice and agency in the face of marginalization and injustice. It is a form of resistance that challenges dominant narratives and offers alternative perspectives and truths.
She uses the terms “noneuropean consciousness” and “Black mother”, insisting on addressing Black women of African-American heritage who are not only oppressed by patriarchal systems but are also subjugated racially. Poetry is thus a means for the Black woman to “think” and, therefore, “be free”. It coined the language to feel the feelings that have hitherto been suppressed in the dark parts of women; by giving language to these feelings, Lorde claims that women express themselves through poetry, curating new ideas that call for action. Poetry directly influences society and is thus not a frivolity or luxury.
At one point in her essay, Lorde quotes the famous seventeenth-century philosopher whom she calls the “white father”, René Descartes. His famous axiom, “I think, therefore I am,” means that one is certain of one’s existence because they are capable of rational thought. Lorde attacks this white notion and its systematic and hegemonic denial of Black women; Lorde recasts this as the phrase “I feel, therefore I can be free,” elucidating that the freedom always known to the white man has never been known to the blacks as a lived experience. Poetry is then a “distillation of experience”, to feel, express, and bring meaningful change.
Lorde emphasizes the transformative power of poetry. She argues that poetry enables individuals to tap into their emotions, desires, and imaginations, thereby allowing them to envision and create a different world. Poetry, in this sense, becomes a source of empowerment and liberation, fostering individual and collective healing. Lorde asserts that poetry has the ability to cultivate empathy, foster connections, and disrupt oppressive structures, making it a potent force for social change.
Lorde weaves her personal experiences as a Black woman and poet into her arguments. She highlights the ways in which poetry has been instrumental in her own journey of self-discovery and self-acceptance. Lorde invites readers to recognize the power of their own voices and experiences, encouraging them to engage with poetry as a means of reclaiming their own identities and challenging systemic oppression.
About the Author
Audre Lord was a radical feminist, American poet, and autobiographer whose writings on lesbian feminism gained immense popularity. She was born in New York and remained an active civil rights activist throughout her life. She published her first volume of poetry in 1968, called First Cities. She briefly left New York to become poet-in-residence at Toogaloo College, Mississippi. Lorde’s 14-year battle with cancer is recorded in her Cancer Journals, in which she gives a feminist critique of the medical profession. She died in 1992.
Audre Lorde’s Poetry is Not a Luxury weaves ideas of freedom, poetry, and revolution together. She argues that it is not a frivolity or a mere aesthetic indulgence to be a poet, but rather a Black woman’s path to liberation from patriarchal and racial dogmas. Lorde is conscious of the freedom accorded unquestioningly more to the Whites than to the Blacks. She argues that to feel things and bring about change, these two ideas can be bridged in poetry alone. It is a medium for women to find their voice, which has been hitherto lost.
