September 2020 issue Download PDF Adjust Share When I was a girl, my Bajan grandmother insisted that my older sister and I recite Psalm 23 every night before bed. --Edwidge Danticat "With this astounding new collection of poems, Crossfire, it is evident that Staceyann Chin has come into her raw, sexual, revolutionary, poetic power. What questions do you have about the poem? "Staceyann Chin's Crossfire: A Litany for Survival is a remarkable collection from a dynamic and talented writer, whose urgent storytelling and commanding voice feel vital for our times." Are there any alternative or obscure meanings? A Litany for Survival By Naomi Jackson, Giving birth as a black woman in America From the. Despite this, the poem urges readers to find the ability to speak out and make themselves heard. The title of this poem is "A Litany for Survival.” A poet chooses words very carefully, and the title is often a key to understanding the overall message. What does each word of the title mean individually? Audre Lorde’s A Litany for Survival is a prayer for the marginalized, those living on the shoreline or on the ‘constant edges of decision’, whose forbidden loves occur in hidden places and times. Last Updated on May 5, 2015, by eNotes Editorial. Then followed by a concluding tercet, or set of three lines.Lorde has not chosen to structure this piece with a consistent pattern of rhyme or rhythm.The lines and stanzas generally vary in … For those of us who live at the shoreline standing upon the constant edges of decision crucial and alone for those of us who cannot indulge the passing dreams of choice who live in doorways coming and going in the hours between dawns looking inward and outward at once before and after seeking a now that can breed futures Word Count: 350 “A Litany for Survival” is a short poem in free verse containing three dense stanzas and a concluding three-line stanza. Here’s a poem from the late New York State Poet Audre Lorde, "A Litany for Survival,” which characterizes life as a state of permanent fear of personal extinction, even during the best of times, for members of vulnerable populations. A LITANY FOR SURVIVAL. Date February 5, 2021 Tags Audre Lorde , every day is poetry , literature , poem , poems , poet , poetry , poetry reading , poets Comments Leave a comment Audre Lorde was an LGBT activist, black woman, mother, and warrior (in her own words). a litany for survival:: audre lorde For those of us who live at the shoreline standing upon the constant edges of decision crucial and alone for those of us who cannot indulge the passing dreams of choice who love in doorways coming and going in the hours between dawns … ‘A Litany for Survival’ by Audre Lorde is a four stanza poem made out three longer stanzas, made out of 14, 10, and 17 lines. A Litany for Survival: The Life and Work of Audre Lorde, a powerful profile of the African-American-poet, will air on public television stations in 2006 as part of True Lives, a documentary series bringing classic documentaries to public television, from the producers of PBS's POV series. This is a reading for the poem A Litany for Survival, by Audre Lorde.