0:00:02.799,0:00:07.777
Hello loved ones, and welcome to week 7
0:00:07.777,0:00:12.799
of Resurrection Sundays for Audre Lorde.
0:00:12.799,0:00:18.756
Today the poem that I'm gonna share to you [br]is from The Marvelous Arithmetics of Distance,
0:00:18.756,0:00:22.940
Audre Lorde's last published book of poems.
0:00:22.940,0:00:27.958
And it really has helped me today,[br]has meant a lot to me today.
0:00:27.958,0:00:38.110
I am sending today my closing chapter for [br]Gloria Joseph's soon to be epic bio anthology
0:00:38.110,0:00:43.563
celebrating the life of Audre Lorde [br]and talking about how her legacy lives on.
0:00:43.563,0:00:46.987
And it's something that has been [br]such an honour to write,
0:00:46.987,0:00:53.493
and I also have been, um, just really thinking [br]about how to do it justice.
0:00:53.493,0:00:56.834
So... reading this poem today, 26 times,
0:00:56.834,0:01:00.630
and looking at the messages in [br]every letter of the alphabet that it gives,
0:01:00.630,0:01:05.298
have been huge for me, and I'm excited [br]to share it with you right now.
0:01:06.884,0:01:12.539
"Legacy - Hers"
0:01:12.539,0:01:15.866
When love leaps from my mouth
0:01:15.866,0:01:18.407
cadenced in that Grenada wisdom
0:01:18.407,0:01:22.716
upon which I first made holy war
0:01:22.716,0:01:26.081
then I must reassess[br]
0:01:26.081,0:01:28.490
all my mother’s words
0:01:28.490,0:01:32.208
or every path I cherish.
0:01:32.208,0:01:35.158
Like everything else I learned from Linda
0:01:35.158,0:01:40.456
this message hurtles across still uncalm air
0:01:40.456,0:01:44.726
silent... tumultuous... freed water
0:01:44.726,0:01:48.601
descending an imperfect drain.
0:01:48.601,0:01:51.514
I learn how to die
0:01:51.514,0:01:54.017
from your many examples
0:01:54.017,0:01:56.582
cracking the code of your living
0:01:56.582,0:02:00.715
heroisms... collusions... invisibilities
0:02:00.715,0:02:03.119
constructing my own
0:02:03.119,0:02:05.515
book of your last hours
0:02:05.515,0:02:07.255
how we tried to connect
0:02:07.255,0:02:09.616
in that bland spotless room
0:02:09.616,0:02:12.253
one bright Black woman
0:02:12.253,0:02:18.604
to another... [br]bred for endurance... for battle
0:02:18.604,0:02:20.654
--Island women make good wives
0:02:20.654,0:02:25.165
whatever happens they’ve seen worse--
0:02:25.165,0:02:31.438
Your last word to me was wonderful
0:02:31.438,0:02:34.640
And I am still seeking the rest
0:02:34.640,0:02:37.731
of that terrible acrostic
0:02:40.254,0:02:45.016
Mmmm. So, I love that poem.
0:02:45.016,0:02:52.753
And in The Marvelous Arithmetics of Distance, Audre Lorde has this poem about her mother's legacy,
0:02:52.753,0:02:58.147
she has a poem called "Legacy - Hers", [br]and she has a poem called "Inheritance - His".
0:02:58.147,0:03:04.576
She's really thinking about how can she learn [br]from her relationship with her parents,
0:03:04.576,0:03:12.983
and use it, even at the end of her life, [br]to construct her ideas about legacy itself.
0:03:12.983,0:03:18.955
And so, as we close this year,
0:03:18.955,0:03:24.983
I know that this poem is really helping me[br]be present to what it means to close a year,
0:03:24.983,0:03:27.820
to get ready to open a new year,
0:03:27.820,0:03:32.183
without some important people in my life who I love,
0:03:32.183,0:03:36.983
who I now, in 2013, was able to relate to in body,
0:03:36.983,0:03:45.053
and in 2014 I'll be able to relate to [br]as a legacy bearer, or through legacy.
0:03:45.053,0:03:50.210
And I want to assign each of you to think about that.
0:03:50.210,0:03:54.109
For you, how would you name [br]the legacy you walk in?
0:03:54.109,0:04:00.015
Who are the people [br]whose legacy you carry with you?
0:04:00.015,0:04:06.610
And I think that this poem [br]is a great model of a love letter back,
0:04:06.610,0:04:11.605
asking "what did it mean, [br]those last words that you said to me?"
0:04:11.605,0:04:14.915
Explaining that what you learn has to be questioned,
0:04:14.915,0:04:18.210
the words that we have have to be questioned[br]over and over again.
0:04:18.210,0:04:24.514
So my assignment to you is to write a letter to someone whose legacy is important to you.
0:04:24.514,0:04:31.319
And of course, the legacy of Audre Lorde [br]continues to be important to all of us.
0:04:31.319,0:04:37.043
I look forward to being able to give you more detail [br]about publication and timeline and everything,
0:04:37.043,0:04:40.870
for this beautiful book that Dr. Gloria Joseph [br]is putting together.
0:04:40.870,0:04:45.822
And of course, come visit us on [br]the School of Our Lorde website:
0:04:45.822,0:04:48.673
summerofourlorde.wordpress.com
0:04:48.673,0:04:51.872
and have a beautiful beautiful [br]transition of your year.
0:04:51.872,0:04:53.533
Sending you love.