(1934 – 1992) Outspoken African American lesbian feminist poet, memoirist and activist. Her published poetry includes The First Cities (1968), Coal (1976) and Our Dead Behind Us (1986). Among her other works, Cancer Journals (1980) depicts her experiences with breast cancer, while Zami: A New Spelling of My Name (1982) is constructed as a biomythography. Among political speeches, she was also the author of Apartheid USA (1986).