Acclaimed black lesbian feminist, writer, and activist Audre Lorde lived on the North Shore of Staten Island, just a stones throw from the Alice Austen House with her partner and two children from 1972 to 1987.

Lorde authored many of her most influential works while living on St Paul's Avenue, during this time she also co-founded Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press, and spoke at the 1979 National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights.

This year her Staten Island residence joined the Alice Austen House on the national register of historic places with LGBTQ significance. In celebration of her legacy and this historic designation, the Alice Austen House will host a reading by Staten Island poets Marguerite Maria Rivas (Staten Islands first Poet Laureate), M.A. Dennis, Thomas Fucaloro, Fern Metcalf and Lisa Rhodes. These poets will read favorite works of Audre Lorde, as well as selections from their own works. THIS IS AN OFFICIAL 2019 BROOKLYN BOOK FESTIVAL EVENT