Silence Won’t Protect You

Beginning November 10, and continuing each Tuesday through December 8, Montauk Library will host a fall virtual reading and discussion series titled “Your Silence Will Not Protect You! — The Writing of Audre Lorde,” a Humanities New York Reading Program.

Dr. Georgette Grier-Key, executive director and chief curator of Eastville Community Historical Society in Sag Harbor, will moderate the five-part series, which meets via Zoom from 5 to 6 p.m. each Tuesday and is free and open to the public.

Audre Lorde, who was born in New York City in 1934 and died in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands in 1992, was an American writer, feminist, womanist, librarian and civil rights activist. As a poet, she is best known for technical mastery and emotional expression. Her poems and prose largely deal with issues related to civil rights, feminism, lesbianism, illness and disability, and the exploration of Black female identity. Her numerous distinctions include being named poet laureate of New York State.

Lorde’s powerful voice, documented in her poems, essays, speeches, bio-mythography and other writings remain vital and instructive. Her work is not only worth reading for its own sake, but continues to provide keen insight into the differences that strengthen American society. This reading and discussion series provides participants an opportunity to discuss Lorde’s writings as they explore issues of race, class, gender, and sexuality. Readings will include “Warrior Poet,” a biography of Audre Lorde by Alexis de Veaux, and works written by Lorde, including “The Collected Poems of Audre Lorde,” “Sister Outsiders,” “Zami: A New Spelling of My Name” and “The Cancer Journals.” Books and e-books are available on Live-Brary and can be picked up at the Montauk Library as well as other libraries in Suffolk County.

The Montauk Library is especially pleased to present this series in view of the fact that among Audre Lorde’s numerous distinctions, she earned a master’s degree in library science at Columbia University in 1961 and was employed at the Mount Vernon, New York public library.

The series meets from 5 to 6 p.m. on November 10, November 17, November 24, December 1 and December 8. To register, email Carolyn Balducci, Adult Programs, Montauk Library, cbalducci@montauklibrary.org.