Review by Booklist Review
Admirers of Lorde's acclaimed Cancer Journals (Spinsters Ink, 1980) will be saddened by this collection of her recent nonfiction, which records the recurrence of cancer, a disease that first struck the black lesbian poet in 1985. Unlike the earlier work, which offered hope that a changed life and newly invigorated spirit could send breast cancer into remission, this is a record of a physical defeat-the discovery of bone cancer. But it is also the story of a spiritual victory-renewed life in the face of death. There is no particular grandeur or intrinsic drama in continuing to live, day after day, in the face of imminent death. But at the end, Lorde says, such dailiness is all we can expect, all we should count on. Lorde's journals lift us beyond cliches and panaceas to show the truth: the bitter ordinariness of dying. MPM. 814'.54 Lorde, Audre-Biography / Poets, American-20th century-Biography / Feminists-U.S.-Biography / Breast-Cancer-Patients-U.S.-Biography / Afro-American lesbians-Social conditions [OCLC] 88-3924
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In 1984, feminist poet Lorde learned that her breast cancer had metastasized to the liver. The moving title section comprises a series of journal excerpts that both frighten and inspire: choosing not to have a biopsy, she instead treats the disease with a stay at the homeopathic Lukas Klinik in Switzerland, consultations with more traditional medical specialists and alternatives like self-hypnosis. Her lifelong battle against racism, sexism and homophobia has armed her with the resilience to resist cancer, and thus ``A Burst of Light'' becomes not only a chronicle of Lorde's fight against disease, but a view of one woman's sparring with injustice, whether the oppressors are the South African police, the American government or malignant cells within her own body. Although it rings out with passion, anger and hope, the lengthy title piece is sometimes rambling and repetitive. In refreshing contrast, three outstanding essays on black lesbianism, the parallels between South Africa and the United States, and lesbian parenting are politically specific and pithy. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
