Audre Lorde’s, “a litany for survival”, Lorde discusses marginalization, and the effects of marginalization on the psyche of those who exists within its confines. Lorde, who was born in New York in 1934 often stood at the center of intersecting systems of oppressions given the fact that she is a woman, black, and a self-identifying lesbian. As is the case for this poem, Lorde often expresses her outrage at the social injustices that she experienced throughout the course of her life. Lorde was an active participant in the civil rights, gay, and feminist movements of the 1960’s. One of her great contributions to contemporary feminist thought was in her redefining of the term ‘erotic’. In normative western society, the erotic exists only in reference to sex and sexuality. This is problematic because it is patriarchal in nature, and exists in a culture where sex is taboo. Lorde defined the erotic to be the embracement of anything that brings love and enjoyment to one’s life. This highlights the importance of embracing and tending to one’s own needs. To deny this aspect of life is to deny personhood. Lorde viewed this as a source of power, particularly for women.    Lorde published more than a dozen poetry collections and six books of prose from 1968 to 1993. Her works were reviewed in national publications including The New York Times Book Review. She worked closely with women of color in many countries and was founder of Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press. In 1979, she addressed the first national march for lesbian and gay liberation in Washington, D.C.