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Poetry refers to the knowledge effort in which exceptional passion is set to the look of opinions and thoughts by use of distinguishing rhythm and style. Poetry is a mirror of the society in literature. Poems can sing or recite. People have used poems for many different purposes which include criticizing people's unbecoming behaviors, demanding their rights, and also for entertainment purposes. This paper is going to discuss the importance of poetry to Audrey Lorge. Audrey, being an activist in various fields even politics, black, worried composer, and a lesbian, had much to talk about in her poems. This paper is going to discuss how she had fought for the rights of the black women and how she used her poetic skills to bring out her thoughts.
In the novel Zami, Audrey Lorge said that she had changed her name from Audrey to Audre to create rhyme with her lasts name Lorge. This shows the great passion she had for poetry to the extent of changing her name. She says that she was born in New York, but later immigrated to the Caribbean from Barbados and Carriacou. She was inspired by her mother to become a writer. This is because her mother also was an activist, and she could not stand the injustices that were being done to them by the whites. Audrey grew a bitter girl because of the treatment they were receiving from the whites. This also fueled her urge to write articles and poems. By the time she finished her eighth grade, she had already written her first poem.
Audrey Lorge used her poems to address many issues such as the oppression of the blacks by the whites. Being born of a black mother and a white father, Audrey says that even in her growing up age, she could witness injustices done to her and her mother for being black. One of the reasons she ventured into poetry was to express her thoughts freely. She was against all the injustices faced by the blacks. She said in one of her poems that “the white female will leave, and the black female will stay.” She was a strong activist in making sure that the oppression of the black women was eliminated from the country. Audrey argued that both the white and the black women had the same equal rights. Even though in her poems, she has talked much about the oppression of the black women, it is evident that Audrey was fighting for the rights of both the black men and women.
Audrey was not left out in matters regarding the running of the country. When she noted a certain injustice happening in the political world, she would stand out and point out the problem. According to her, all people regardless of their skin color or gender were equal and had the same rights in matters regarding the running of the country. She pointed out and said, “Your quietness will not protect you.” We find that, to her, keeping quiet was not a solution, and it would solve nothing. She stood out to the government to protect the rights of the blacks. This was propelled by her belief that keeping quiet would bring nothing, but desperation. She advised the other blacks not to be held back by anything, but to stand out and reach for their rights. Her poetic skills helped her to reach out to many black people enabling them to suppress their fear and come out to demand their rights. This led to a revolution which led to the elimination of the discrimination against blacks.
Being a lesbian, Audrey decided to fight for her sexuality. Her sexuality was faced with a lot of challenges right from the society and the religious point of view. Lesbianism is faced with a lot of stigmatization from many people of different walks of life. Audrey went ahead to forming an organization based on her sexuality. This was to try and reduce the stigmatization that came along with being a lesbian. She says, “If I did not describe myself for myself, I would be camped into other people's fancies for me and eaten alive.” This clearly shows that Audrey did not mind what other people thought about her sexuality. She did not care of people's fantasies; instead, she was more interested in what she thought about her own life. It is evident that Audrey had known how to express herself using her poetic skills. Therefore, poetry had played a very important role in her social life.
Audrey was also a feminist. A feminist is a female person who involves herself in fighting for the rights of the female gender. It involves fighting for the same rights of the men and women. Audrey was an active feminist who fought for the equal rights of women and men. She argued that women and men had no any differences. Therefore, leaving out a woman in various matters regarding the running of the country was unfair. Audrey said that women were supposed to be given an opportunity to demonstrate their position on how they can run the country equally with men. Audrey also fought for the rights of women of the middle and lower class. To some extent, she felt that only the influential women can be given the opportunity to run the country; she found this unacceptable. Audrey said that each person has the same rights regardless of their social classes. One finds that Audrey's voice was heard in spite of her middle-class status in the society thanks to the use of poetry.
According to Audrey, “Poetry, as for me, is a method of living, It is the manner I look at myself it is the method I move through myself, my world, and it is the way I metabolized what happens and present it out again”. This means that what she entirely has in her possession, she has earned through poetry. For her, poetry was the way to expresses herself. In every situation, she was able to express her thoughts. Poetry also enabled her to internalize everything that happened in her life. She said that poetry was her world; she saw everything around her from a poetic viewpoint.
In conclusion, it is evident that Audrey, regardless of her sexuality, skin color, and even her social status, was not stopped by anything from achieving what she wanted in life. She reached many people who suffered the same fate as she did. She opened the eyes of many black Americans, which made them open up and fight for their rights. Audrey was also an inspiration to many young people who would love to be writers and poets like her. She was able to live up to her dream and even at the end of her days, she proved a hero by standing up to her situation. Her journal about cancer helped give hope to people living with cancer. Audrey is a legend in writing of books and poetry, and she will always be remembered by poem lovers.