Author Stages Readings of 'The Wind Is Spirit:  The Life, Love and Legacy Of Audre Lorde'

On February 17 at the Schomberg Center and on February 18 at Hunter College's Kaye Playhouse, scholars including author Gloria I. Joseph will gather to celebrate Audre Lorde's birthday, and the launch of the book, "The Wind is Spirit: The Life, Love & Legacy of Audre Lorde."

"The writing of this bio/anthology fulfilled my promise to Audre. She told me that she wanted her bio to 'leave a story of who I am in all my complexities and to have people share my vision,'" said Dr. Gloria Joseph, Lorde's surviving partner. "The contributors have accomplished that request. Additionally, the book presents and projects Audre Lorde in a heightened image -- that of a philosopher, sage, poetic genius, and a� political and social activist who never deserted her ancestral spiritual roots."

Joseph will be at several events to promote the book. A few months prior to Lorde's death, they discussed a comprehensive biography that would tell her story in full, revealing her tenacity, complexity and passion as well as her flaws and quirks. With that mandate, Joseph created "The Wind is Spirit: The Life, Love and Legacy of Audre Lorde."

Told griot style (an African oral tradition of storytelling to maintain historical ties to the past), this combination anthology and biography brings together a wide range of prominent authors and activists, who submitted essays, reflections, stories, poems, memoirs and photos that illuminate how Lorde's literary vision and her turbulent and triumphant life inspired so many. The book, a kind of call-and-response biography, also contains conversations with Lorde, Joseph's personal photos and travelogs, and remembrances from her three memorials, in New York, Berlin and St Croix.�

The event is a celebration of the life of the feminist, warrior, poet, mother, lover survivor, outsider, Audre Lorde. Her powerful words continue to inspire and charge generation after generation into fearless, unapologetic activism.

This event is free to the public, and will include a welcoming ceremonial drum performance, reading from author and activist Sonia Sanchez, insights from Dr. Gloria I. Joseph, screening of excerpts of "A Litany for Survival" and remarks by filmmaker Ada Griffin, poetry and prose by authors who have been inspired by Audre Lorde, a closing drum processional, and a book signing and reception.

The book comes from Villarosa Media, founded by a family with over 50 years of combined journalism and literary experience. They are poised to become a new player in the publishing business, a boutique publishing company of quality fiction and nonfiction books primarily by and about African Americans and the African diaspora.
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Villarosa Media was established by Clara Villarosa, founder of Hue-Man Bookstore in Denver and Harlem, and her two daughters, Linda and Alicia. Linda is a former executive editor of Essence Magazine and award winning New York Times Health Editor, and Alicia is freelance writer and blogger, both with wide name recognition in writing and publishing. Together they have over 50 years of expertise in book selling, editing, promotion, journalism, novel writing and online media.

For Linda Villarosa, this first project is very close to her heart, as she notes, "Audre Lorde's fearlessness has always been an inspiration, so working on this book is like being a part of literary history as well as my own. Even now I feel her presence, literally. While shooting video in St. Croix sometimes there would be a sudden gust of wind. Gloria would simply say, there's Audre again letting us know she's here."

And author bell hooks gives advance praise, noting that�"The saying, 'our struggle is a struggle of memory against forgetting' remains a clarion call for those of us working to keep alive the legacy of visionary Black women writers and thinkers. Among those, Audre Lorde deserves our constant remembrance, study, and critical attention. This anthology is awesome because unlike other biographical reminiscences, it offers a candid and holistic portrait of Audre Lorde. An amazing group of writers and thinkers have come together to speak in diverse voices about Lorde's wisdom and magic. Prophetically, she called us all to break silences and to speak and so we lift our voices to honor, praise and remember."
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Join them from 2-4 p.m. on February 17 for a discussion and book signing with author Gloria I. Joseph moderated by Sonia Sanchez, at the Schomberg Center for Research in Black Culture, Langston Hughes Auditorium, 515 Malcolm X Blvd. New York, NY 10037.
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Or, head to the Audre Lorde Birthday Celebration and "The Wind Is Spirit: The Life, Love and Legacy Of Audre Lorde" book launch from 6:30-10 p.m. on� February 18 at The Kaye Playhouse, Hunter College, 695 Park Ave. at 68th Street, New York, NY 10065.
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Catch them again on February 23 for a reading and book signing with author Gloria I. Joseph., at Westchester Community College, 75 Grasslands Rd. Valhalla NY, and again on February 29 in Syracuse, NY, location TBD.

For more information on the event, visit http://www.nypl.org/events/programs/2016/02/17/5-life-love-and-legacy-audre-lorde

For information about the book, visit www.villarosamedia.com, or Facebook