Power (Magill’s Survey of American Literature, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Audre Lorde
- First Published: 1974
- Type of Work: Poem
- Genres: Poetry
- Subjects: African Americans, United States or Americans, Power, personal or social, Blacks, Murder or homicide, Police, Twentieth century
“Power” is based on an actual event and Lorde's personal reaction, which she recorded in her journal. While driving, Lorde heard a radio broadcast announcing the acquittal of a white policeman who had shot and killed a black ten-year-old. She was so furious and sickened that she felt that the sky turned red, that she had to park the car before she drove it into a wall. Then and there, she inscribed her feelings of outrage over the decision of the jury of eleven white men and one black woman.
In the unforgettable imagery employed in “Power,” the streets of New York become...
[The entire page is 641 words long]
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