Conversation Overview 

Audre Lorde was a Black woman poet, author, philosopher, and feminist. While many are familiar with several popularized quotes from Lorde’s work, few know the full extent of her radical messages about the intersections of identity, race, class, and sexually, and the necessity for marginalized groups to ban together in the fight against oppression. In this Messy Conversation, educators LaCoya Katoe Gessesse, MFA and Ryane Granados, MFA will discuss Lorde’s life and work, and the cultural impact of her words on their lives as Black women, writers, and mothers in present-day America.

LaCoya Katoe Gessesse MFA  is a devoted member of the Antioch University community. She received her BA in English from Lake Forest College and an MFA in Creative Writing from Antioch. Since completing her MFA, LaCoya has held a variety of educational instruction and support roles at AU including Undergraduate Teaching Faculty, and has previously worked as a non-profit program coordinator, curriculum developer, and a creative writing teaching artist. LaCoya currently serves as the Antioch University Director of Writing Support, and most enjoys helping students from diverse backgrounds learn to find their personal and academic writing voices. A native of Memphis, TN, LaCoya’s own academic and creative work centers on the diverse experiences of African American women writers and voices, and as well as voices from the American South. 

Ryane Granados, MFA has always called Los Angeles her home, and she received her MFA in Creative Writing from Antioch University, Los Angeles. She is a proud Loyola Marymount University alumna having earned her BA in English and graduating with the distinction of being the first ever African American Valedictorian in LMU’s history. For over 20 years, she has worked in the fields of education and fine arts, including 13 years as a tenured Associate English Professor at Golden West College. As LMU's current Associate Director of the Academic Resource Center, Ryane has a wealth of writing knowledge and a background in learning communities that promote student success. Ryane's work has been featured in various publications including Pangyrus, The Manifest-Station, High Country News, The Atticus Review, and LA Parent Magazine. Her storytelling has also been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and showcased in KPCC's live series Unheard LA.  As the winner of the 2023 Leapfrog Press Global Fiction Prize, her novella, The Aves, was released in the fall of 2024.

Important Lorde quotes:

“The love expressed between women is particular and powerful because we have had to love in order to live; love has been our survival."

-- Lorde, Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches.

“In our work and in our living, we must recognize that difference is a reason for celebration and growth, rather than a reason for destruction."

-- Lorde, Black Women Writers at Work

“It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences." 

-- Lorde, Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches

“When I dare to be powerful—to use my strength in the service of my vision—then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid." 

-- Lorde,The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action

“I have a duty to speak the truth as I see it and share not just my triumphs, not just the things that felt good, but the pain. The intense, often unmitigated pain. It is important to share how I know survival is survival and not just a walk through the rain." 

-- Lorde, The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action