Spellbook Saturday: Pride Edition! (Part 3)

As I took last week off to do a Tending the Hedge feature with Meridian Tarot & Astrology (check it out if you haven’t already!), I’m concluding my Spellbook Saturday series in celebration of Pride today, which feels very apropos— the Stonewall Riots began 52 years ago this week, on June 28, 1969.

As I’ve discussed before, as a bisexual white woman I am in the very privileged position of being open, comparatively safe, and celebrated in my identity, an experience not afforded to all in the queer community. For LGBTQIA+ individuals of color, there are unique challenges based on experiences of overlapping marginalized identities. (For resources for queer communities of color, I highly recommend HRC.)

Few have given voice to the black queer experience quite like Audre Lorde. A self-described “Black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet,” Lorde dedicated her life to the cause of social justice, famously stating, “I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own.” And while she was quite prolific, it is Zami: A New Spelling of My Name – A Biomythography that I am happy to recommend today.

Lorde’s writing is as lyrical as it is direct and unflinching. She brings equal amounts of passion and poetry to recounting experiences of oppression as she does moments of joy, and is without a doubt one of the greatest American writers of the twentieth century.

Have you read anything by Audre Lorde? Are there other queer writers of color that you recommend? Share in the comments— I love to hear what you’re all reading!

DID YOU ENJOY THIS FEATURE? CHECK OUT OTHER TITLES IN THE #SPELLBOOKSATURDAY SERIES!