This book is a hallmark of what it means when people say, "the personal is political." I've read Zami several times and each time it has struck me as the purest artifact of a woman's life. It resonates with me in a very personal way, but the political implications are teeming through this book. Politics are constantly butting into Audre Lorde's life and memories, making it obvious how it is knitted into her life, as a woman, as an African-American, as a lesbian--you cannot extricate the political from her life without unraveling the very fabric of her existence. ( )

I recently read Zami, by Audre Lorde. I have ridiculous love for Lorde.

read it for class (sexuality in literature or something similar), but am very glad that I did. excellent book, with a detailed look at what it means to grow up both black and lesbian in the 1950s. ( )

Biomythography ‘‘ has the elements of biography and history of myth. In other words, it’s fiction built from many sources. This is one way of expanding our vision.’’

www.barnesandnobJ. Payne, a 21 year old English Major at USF, 05/07/2001
The Struggle for overthrowing the White Patriarchal Heirarchy
_Zami_, by Audre Lorde, is a powerful book about a young woman, her struggle with her racial and sexual identity, and the powerful influences of her mother which haunt her throughout her life. Although Lorde deems the book a 'biomythography' there is a strong sense of family and connection running through the entire piece. As Lorde grows and shows us her life growing up in Harlem, how she was ostrasized from her Black brothers and sisters, as well as being an outsider in school and even in her own family. The pain of being alone rushes through the novel and allows the reader to get a glimpse of what a strong person Lorde really was. She allows us to view her journey from a lonely little girl, to a trouble adolescant, to a mature and intelligent independant young woman working to overthrow the patriarchal and sexual oppression she finds in everyday life. A must read book!