Books of Interest
Website: chetyarbrough.blog
The Fire Inside (The Dharma of James Baldwin and Audre Lorde)
Author: Rima Vesely-Flad Ph.D.
Narration by: Heni Zoutomou
Rima Vesely-Flad (Author, Buddhist and Black History scholar with a Ph.D. in Social Ethics.)
The premise of Vesely-Flad’s book is somewhat misleading because its cover highlights James Baldwin and Audre Lorde while much of the text is a biography of Rima Vesely-Flad. “The Fire Inside” does address beliefs of James Baldwin and Audre Lorde but it is the dimension of black life in America that is the book’s subject. A large part of the story is the author’s life as a woman born to a white mother and black father. Vesely-Flad explains her grandparents were offended by their granddaughter’s birth because of her having a Black father.
The beliefs and fame of James Baldwin are reported in many books written about him and by him. Audre Lorde and Vesely-Flad, on the other hand, are not well known to the general public. Lorde’ and Vesely-Flad’ stories are gender versions of Baldwin’s story.
Audre Lorde (American writer, professor, philosopher, feminist, poet, and civil rights activist.)
Ms. Lorde was born in 1934 to Caribbean immigrant parents from Grenada. She became a poet who wrote about racism, structural oppression, sexism, and sexual orientation. A book of her poems was first published in 1968, and she became a National Book Award winner in 1988. She was an active participant in the women’s movement, civil rights, and LGBTQ liberation. A famous line which became a rallying cry Lorde created is “Your silence will not protect you”. Her beliefs are about the majority of people in America and their power. She argues–the American white majority should confront the truth of who they are, and how society represses those who are non-white. This is the theme that fits the reputations of Baldwin and Vesely-Flad in “The Fire Inside”.
“Go Tell It on the Mountain” is an autobiographical view of life and growth to manhood as a Black child raised in Harlem. It took ten years to write but became Baldwin’s most famous book. It released Baldwin from the ghost of his stepfather’s cruelty and set the stage for his exploration of race, religion, sexuality, and personal identity.
As a bibliophile, one is drawn to “The Fire Inside” because of the picture of Baldwin on its cover. Many who have read Baldwin’s work are drawn to this book because of his fame and writing about American racism. The stories of the author’ and Lorde’s lives reinforce much of what one has read in Baldwin’s books.
The author of “The Fire Inside” follows and considers herself a Buddhist. Neither Baldwin nor Lorde were Buddhists, but Vesely-Flad argues they followed many Buddhist beliefs by confronting and clarifying suffering in America. They exposed the illusions of ego, fear, and domination which are goals of Buddhism. Like Buddhists, the author argues Baldwin and Lorde insisted on liberation of the personal, political, and spiritual beliefs of the individual.
Vesely-Flad explains both Baldwin and Lorde are gay. Black Americans who believe in their right to be as they are should not be challenged by the political, spiritual, and religious beliefs of society. The point they make is that one’s inner life is their own. As long as one is not using anger, discrimination, or power to oppress others, they have an equal right to their personal life, liberty, and opportunity.
Vesely-Flad’s idealization of life and liberty exists nowhere in the world because of human nature. One is drawn to religions like Christianity, Protestantism, and some would argue Buddhism, but in practice we all remain trapped by human nature and become discriminatory. Vesely-Flad’s story of her life and experience have the same social ugliness that is known of Baldwin’s and Lorde’s lives. Until equality of opportunity is somehow politically assured, human nature will always victimize those who are different.
REVIEWS AND VIEWS OF LIFE 