A poet and essayist, Audre Lorde (1934–1992) was born in New York City to Caribbean immigrant parents and described herself as a "black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet." Her collections include Coal (Norton, 1976) and The Black Unicorn (Norton, 1978). Her book The Cancer Journals (Spinsters, 1980) recounts her experience with breast cancer. She was named New York State Poet in 1991, holding the title through 1993, and taught for many years at Hunter College.
