"[A] scintillating tour de force . . . in a free-ranging style as distinctive as its subject . . . Forgoing the strictures and linearity of traditional biography, Gumbs enlivens her narrative with unconventional flourishes that in lesser hands might feel like a gimmick but here come across as revelation . . . Gumbs is a master stylist with a knack for writing sentences at once direct and expansive (“The scale of the life of the poet is the scale of the universe”). This is a feast for the intellect—and the soul." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Gumbs, one of our great poets, has delivered not only a masterful biography of Audre Lorde but a revolution in what a biography can be. Whether you only know Lorde through her most famous quotes or if you’ve read everything she wrote a thousand times, there is something new and exciting here for you. Structurally playful, deeply researched, vibrantly felt, it’s a masterwork all around." —LitHub

A bold, innovative biography that offers a new understanding of the life, work, and enduring impact of Audre Lorde.

We remember Audre Lorde as an iconic writer, a quotable teacher whose words and face grace T-shirts, nonprofit annual reports, and campus diversity-center walls. But even those who are inspired by Lorde’s teachings on “the creative power of difference” may be missing something fundamental about her life and work, and what they can mean for us today.

Lorde’s understanding of survival was not simply about getting through to the other side of oppression or being resilient in the face of cancer. It was about the total stakes of what it means to be in relationship with a planet in transformation. Possibly the focus on Lorde’s quotable essays, to the neglect of her complex poems, has led us to ignore her deep engagement with the natural world, the planetary dynamics of geology, meteorology, and biology. For her, ecological images are not simply metaphors but rather literal guides to how to be of earth on earth, and how to survive—to live the ethics that a Black feminist lesbian warrior poetics demands.

In Survival Is a Promise, Alexis Pauline Gumbs, the first researcher to explore the full depths of Lorde’s manuscript archives, illuminates the eternal life of Lorde. Her life and work become more than a sound bite; they become a cosmic force, teaching us the grand contingency of life together on earth.

BIO

Alexis Pauline Gumbs is the author of several works of poetry and of Undrowned: Black Feminist Lessons from Marine Animals, which won a Whiting Writers' Award in 2022. In 2023, she won a Windham Campbell Prize for her poetry. She lives in Durham, North Carolina.

REVIEWS

“An endless constellation of everyone who affected and was affected by Lorde . . . Survival is a Promise admirably demonstrates the breadth and depth of Lorde’s journey from Harlem to the stars . . . By recounting Lorde’s story outside linear chronology, and putting her alongside the rivers, forests, radio waves and obsidian, Gumbs is faithful to her subject’s great desire to be something more eternal. But Survival is a Promise finally shows that this cosmic life is achieved through grounded and deep human work.” -- Zito Madu, The Washington Post

"Gumbs asks: how might we think of Audre Lorde, not as a hollow symbol of Black feminism, but as a thinker whose own survival in a world premised on her extinction required her to take up the task of self-defense through poetry and political action? She approaches Lorde as one would a mentor, mother, sister, auntie, lover—with curiosity and mutual respect . . . Ultimately, she shows us the kind of complex and radiant scholarship that emerges when scholars dig deeper, refusing to treat the life and work of Black feminist figures as self-evident." -- The Guardian

"The strength of Survival is in its carefully rendered portraits of Lorde’s intimate relationships, both romantic and platonic. Gumbs clearly relates how Lorde’s commitment to world-building was not simply an abstract concern left to the domain of literature, but was realized in real-life communion with her chosen family . . . In every phase, we see Lorde herself as an energetic force that exists beyond the boundary of her body, and, certainly, the span of her life." -- The Boston Globe

"[A] scintillating tour de force . . . in a free-ranging style as distinctive as its subject . . . Forgoing the strictures and linearity of traditional biography, Gumbs enlivens her narrative with unconventional flourishes that in lesser hands might feel like a gimmick but here come across as revelation . . . Gumbs is a master stylist with a knack for writing sentences at once direct and expansive (“The scale of the life of the poet is the scale of the universe”). This is a feast for the intellect—and the soul." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"A celebration of a tireless advocate . . . Stars, hurricanes, and even whale songs feature in a narrative notable for lyrical prose and unabashed admiration . . . Gumbs offers thoughtful analyses of Lorde’s poems, as well as the pressures and pleasures of her life: friends and lovers; marriage to a white gay man; motherhood; divorce; and recurring cancer . . . A defiant woman sensitively and incisively portrayed." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“[A] sublime biography . . . An inventive and thorough look into Lorde’s work and life that illustrates how truly impactful [Lorde’s] power was and continues to be . . .This is an elegant portrait of a revered and beloved icon." -- Booklist (starred review)

"Lorde has found the perfect interlocutor. Gumbs’ writing is multilayered, poetic and beautiful, making this book more than a biography. It’s a meeting of two minds . . . Survival Is a Promise bears an important and hopeful message for us all: Survival is a communal act of care." -- BookPage (starred review)

"Through meticulous research into Lorde’s unpublished manuscripts and lesser-known writings, Gumbs uncovers layers of Lorde’s thought that challenge the reductionist view of her as just a collection of memorable quotes. Survival is a Promise revitalizes Audre Lorde’s work by illuminating its eternal relevance and depth." -- New York Amsterdam News

[H]  Farrar, Straus & Giroux  /  August 20, 2024

1.61" H x 9.19" L x 6.38" W (1.63 lbs) 528 pages