Quiz

BuzzFeed Literary Editor

LGBT

<b>“It is not our differences that divide us.</b> It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences." How familiar are you with the work of two of America's foremost thinkers?

“It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences." How familiar are you with the work of two of America's foremost thinkers?

Who Said It: James Baldwin Or Audre Lorde?

This appears in James Baldwin's 1963 essay collection _The Fire Next Time_.

James Baldwin said this to Audre Lorde herself during a 1994 [conversation](http://mocada-museum.tumblr.com/post/73421979421/revolutionary-hope-a-conversation-between-james) hosted by _Essence_ Magazine.

This appears in Audre Lorde's essay "The Master's Tools Will Never Dismantle The Master's House." You can read it [here](http://womenspioneernetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Audre-Lorde.pdf).

This is from James Baldwin's essay "The Artist's Struggle for Integrity."

This also appears in James Baldwin's speech "The Artist's Struggle for Integrity." You can listen to it [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-IyamaAbxM).

This appears in Audre Lorde's essay "Poetry Is Not A Luxury." You can read it [here](http://www.onbeing.org/program/words-shimmer/feature/poetry-not-luxury-audre-lorde/318).

This is from a speech Audre Lorde gave in 1977 titled "The Transformation of Silence Into Language and Action." You can read it [here](http://shrinkingphallus.wordpress.com/the-transformation-of-silence-into-language-and-action-by-audre-lorde/).

This is from Audre Lorde's poem "Coal." You can read it [here](http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/171285).

This is from James Baldwin's poem "Amen." That's right! James Baldwin [wrote poems too](http://www.buzzfeed.com/isaacfitzgerald/i-dont-feel-death-coming-i-feel-death-going)!

This [appears](http://articles.latimes.com/1987-12-05/local/me-6102_1_white-men) in Baldwin's essay collection _The Fire Next Time_.

This appears in Audre Lorde's 1988 essay collection _A Burst of Light_.

This is from James Baldwin's "Open Letter to Angela Y. Davis." You can read it [here](http://www.historyisaweapon.com/defcon1/itcitmbaldwin.html).

Maybe you're new to Baldwin and Lorde's work. Maybe you know a lot about one of them, but not so much about the other writer's work. It's all good. Any time is a great time to read an essay like ["Notes Of A Native Son"](http://english.duke.edu/uploads/media_items/baldwin-native-son.original.pdf) or ["The Transformation of Silence Into Language And Action."](http://shrinkingphallus.wordpress.com/the-transformation-of-silence-into-language-and-action-by-audre-lorde/)   
If you read those essays and love them, check out Lorde's autobiography [Zami: A New Spelling Of My Name](http://www.amazon.com/dp/0895941228/?tag=buzz0f-20) and essay collection [Sister Outsider](http://www.amazon.com/dp/1580911862/?tag=buzz0f-20). And James Baldwin's [Collected Essays](http://www.amazon.com/dp/1883011523/?tag=buzz0f-20) is considered one of the most important American essay collections ever published. And let's not forget Baldwin's amazing novels and short stories or Lorde's gorgeous poetry. So much brilliance to choose from!

You're definitely familiar with both Baldwin and Lorde's work, but they were wonderfully prolific. If you've already read Lorde's autobiography [Zami: A New Spelling Of My Name](http://www.amazon.com/dp/0895941228/?tag=buzz0f-20) and essay collection [Sister Outsider](http://www.amazon.com/dp/1580911862/?tag=buzz0f-20), you might find [The Cancer Journals](http://www.amazon.com/dp/1879960737/?tag=buzz0f-20) especially moving. If you already own James Baldwin's [Collected Essays](http://www.amazon.com/dp/1883011523/?tag=buzz0f-20) and are still craving more of his brilliance, [The Cross of Redemption: Uncollected Writings](http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003E8AISO/?tag=buzz0f-20) was published in 2010.

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Who Said It: James Baldwin Or Audre Lorde?

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