Audre Lorde

“I want to read.” Four surprising, life-changing words uttered out of the mouth of a misunderstood five-year-old. Her name was Audre Lorde, sans the “y” because the unsightly tail on the letter disturbed the even peace of her name.

In her essay, Audre details her experience as a black, nearsighted child struggling to succeed in the classroom. Her education began at a local library, when a kind children’s librarian interrupted her tantrum and sat her down to read a book. The librarian, Mrs. Augusta Baker, read two simple books to Audre, both of which rhymed and had enchanting illustrations. Audre was thrilled by the majesty of these wondrous books; she wanted to learn how to read them herself.

Audre’s mother taught her the alphabet and how to write her name, so when Audre was enrolled in a public kindergarten she was well prepared. Yet the teacher gave her unfamiliar materials to write with and an assignment that was far below her level. After being reprimanded by her teacher, Audre’s mother saw that this school was not a good match for her and enrolled her in the Catholic school across the street. Audre was accepted into the first grade; however she encountered great difficulty in class because although she knew how to read, she had never been taught numbers, and thus was at a great disadvantage. Sister Mary of Perpetual Help proved to be no help at all; instead she often humiliated and discriminated against Audre. The fact that Audre could not even find the correct pages to read off of because no one had taken the time to teach her how to read numbers lent no sympathy. Yet her time at this school was not all gone to waste, she learned to work with others in order to succeed.

The essay does not go on to describe Audre’s endeavors later on in school, but it is certain that although her first few years as a student were brutal, unfair, and taxing, Audre eventually found her knack and was able to overcome the difficulties of being “different.” Audre said she wanted to learn to read, and she did.