Litany for Survival: The Life and Work of Audre Lorde

“I have come to believe over and over
again, that what is most  important to me
must be spoken, made verbal and shared, even at 
the risk of having it bruised or misunderstood.... My silences had not  protected me. Your silence will not protect
you.... and while we wait in silence for that final luxury of fearlessness, the
weight of that silence will choke us. The fact that we are here and that I
speak these words is an attempt to break that silence and bridge some of those
differences between us, for it is not difference which immobilizes us, but
silence. And there are so many silences to be broken.”

Audre Lorde (The
Transformation of Silence into Language and Action, Sister Outsider). This
quote of the visionary activist and gifted poet Audre Lorde (1934–1992, USA) stands in
many respects for her entire work. Seeking to give voice to those who have been
displaced, silenced and marginalized as “The Others”, she celebrated the
multiple differences between us as “this raw and powerful connection from which
our personal power forged.” Lorde refused “to be circumscribed by any simple
identity“ and wrote, as her famous colleague and poet Adrienne Rich stated, “as
a BLACK woman, a mother, a daughter, a LESBIAN, a feminist and a VISIONARY”.
Thereby she created “poems of elemental wildness and healing, nightmare and
lucidity.” Her award-winning poems, essays and novels, written in a stunning
figurative language, speak of racism in North-America, of sexism among African
Americans, of lesbians and love. Some of her most celebrated collections of
poetry and prose are: From A Land Where Other People Live (1972), The Black
Unicorn (1978), Our Dead Behind Us (1986), The Cancer Journals (1980), Zami: A
New Spelling of My Name (1982) and Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches (1984).

Through her confrontations and dissections of all forms of prejudice, she had a
profound influence on the many communities to which she belonged: queer,
Afro-American, Afro-Caribbean, feminist, and others. She worked intensively
with women of colour in many different countries and was founder of Kitchen
Table: Women of Color Press, which publishes and distributes exclusively works
of women of colour from various communities. Audre Lorde was above all a
charismatic, inspiring person. She was a dynamic force, a devoted professor and
teacher, and an important role model for younger generations and those to come.
We were particularly keen to have her “present” at this year’s City of Women, since in many
respects she was the predecessor and pioneering force for several of the
artists included in this year’s programme. She is a constant source of
inspiration: “The work of the poet within each one of us is to envision what
has not yet been and to work with every fibre of who we are to make the reality
and pursuit of those visions irresistible”. For the documentary A Litany For
Survival - The Life and Work of Audre Lorde co-directors Ada Gay Griffin and
Michelle Parkerson worked for eight years in close collaboration with Lorde to
weave together a richly textured portrait of a gifted, strong-willed woman who embraced
life’s moments and focused her energies on fighting for civil justice, women’s
equality and lesbian and gay rights. This moving film depicts Lorde’s life,
from her childhood roots in New York’s Harlem to her battle with breast cancer. A Litany For Survival
(named after one of her poems) features interviews with many of her fellow
poets and activists, including Adrienne Rich, Sapphire, and Sonia Sanchez, all
of whom pay tribute to Lorde’s impact as a mentor and inspirational force.
“Audre Lorde has been a pioneer in making available her voice as a teacher, a
survivor, an activist, and a crusader against bigotry,” says filmmaker Ada Gay
Griffin. In 1995 the film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. The European
premiere took place at the 45th International Berlin Film Festival.

Tribute to Audre Lorde:
Litany for Survival: The Life and Work of
Audre Lorde
by: Ada
Gay Griffin and Michelle Parkerson.
Third World Newsreel: http://www.twn.org/

A selection of private photos from Dagmar
Schultz, Alice-Salomon-Fachhochschule Berlin, Founder and Director of the women’s
publishing house Orlanda (Germany).