The Cancer Journals by Audre Lorde
Published by Spinsters / Aunt Lute
1980 Second Edition Paperback
Very Good Vintage Condition. The book is clean, covers attached, uncreased spine, secure binding, unmarked, no writing, no highlighting, crisp inner pages, no fading, no stains, no ripped pages, no edge chipping, no corner folds, no crease marks, no remainder marks, not ex-library. Some very light surface and edge wear from age, use, storage and handling.
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The Cancer Journals is a 1980 book of non-fiction by Audre Lorde. It deals with her struggle with breast cancer. The Cancer Journals is a 1980 book of non-fiction by poet and activist Audre Lorde. It deals with her struggle with breast cancer and relates it to her strong advocacy and identity in certain social issues such as lesbian, civil rights, and feminist issues. The Cancer Journals consists of an introduction and three chapters, each featuring passages from her diary. Audre Lorde's upbringing and background plays a key role in understanding her perspectives and passion about feminist, civil rights, and lesbian issues. Understanding the early developments of her life and her journey to writing poetry, leads to a better understanding of her work on The Cancer Journals and its significance. Apart from the story Lorde tells in her book, it is also essential to understand her experience with cancer apart from the literary work. Her cancer battle serves as a catalyst for much of her work, and is thus an important aspect in understanding the bigger picture of The Cancer Journals. The feminist themes that appear in The Cancer Journal have had tremendous impact on Lorde's legacy and in those respective realms of social culture.
The Cancer Journals touches on themes that were prominent in Lorde's life. In describing her identity as a multitude of labels, black, lesbian, feminist mother and poet, Lorde seeks to intertwine her battle with cancer into her identity. "I have cancer, I am a black feminist poet. How am I going to do this now?" she asks and seeks to answer through her writing. Lorde touches on feminist ideals when she combats the societal notion of what a woman should look like and what her body looks like post mastectomy. Lorde states "a kindly woman" attempted to give her "a soft sleep bra and a wad of lambswool pressed into a pale pink breast-shaped pad". The message is clear: the absent breast must be made up for somehow, such that Lorde's one-breasted deviation from the ideal female form is never visible. By embracing her one breast, Lorde avoids denial and persists beyond the impending victimization sick women receive. Lorde works to challenge the notion of femininity in cancer survivors.
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Audre Lorde (February 18, 1934 – November 17, 1992) was an American writer, professor, philosopher, intersectional feminist, poet and civil rights activist. She was a self-described "Black, lesbian, feminist, socialist, mother, warrior, poet" who dedicated her life and talents to confronting all forms of injustice, as she believed there could be "no hierarchy of oppressions". As a poet, she is well known for technical mastery and emotional expression, as well as her poems that express anger and outrage at civil and social injustices she observed throughout her life. As a spoken word artist, her delivery has been called powerful, melodic, and intense by the Poetry Foundation. Her poems and prose largely deal with issues related to civil rights, feminism, lesbianism, illness, disability, and the exploration of Black female identity.