Smashing Times are delighted to present our new ‘Powerful Women in the Arts’ blog on Caribbean-American writer and civil rights activist Audre Lorde. Written by Artistic Director Mary Moynihan, this blog details the life and work of this monumental figure in the history of American and indeed world literature.

Lorde described herself in many different ways to emphasise the fact that women are multi-faceted and complex and cannot be boxed in. She encouraged others to express their own power from within and to blend the personal with the political. As Lorde said herself, ‘your silence will not protect you’ – which is also the name of this blog. To read, click here.