Chosen Poems is also, Lorde says, “a linguistic and emotional tour through the conflicts, fears, and hopes of the worlds I have inhabited.” Among those worlds are such earlier books as The First Cities, Cables to Rage, From a Land Where Other People Live, New York Head Shop and Museum, and Coal. “Only the worlds of Africa scrutinized in The Black Unicorn, too complex for excerpt, have been excluded.” The volume also includes seven new poems. As Adrienne Rich has written, Lorde, “for the complexity of her vision, for her moral courage and the catalytic passion of her language, has already become, for many, an indispensable poet.” Chosen Poems will provide for Lorde’s readers, both old and new, another proof of this continuing truth.

Audre Lorde (1934-1992) published eleven volumes of poetry and five works of prose. Her constellation of honors includes honorary doctorates from Hunter, Oberlin, and Haverford colleges.