For centuries black people have been shunned away from society. They have been viewed as “foolish” and “illiterate.” For these reasons, they have not had the opportunity to express and to voice their opinion. Not given the opportunity, there is no room for judgment; as to know whether a black person has the ability to produce valid ideas. As a result, the black people have only gained the personality and identity that white people have allowed them to get. Audre Lorde, however; challenges those ignorant ideas in her two pieces of writing called Coal and Poetry is not a Luxury. In Coal, Lorde poetically explains her personal experience as a black woman and how she has used words to prosper. Similarly, in Poetry is not a Luxury, Lorde has the…show more content… The farthest external horizons of our hopes and fears are cobbled by our poems, carved from the rock experiences of our daily lives.” Poetry gives a sense of imagination, and it allows people to go beyond what most writing allows. Most writing is very restricted, meaning many rules are implied. And thus, disregards the “farthest external horizons of our hopes and fears.” Traditional books on writing poetry for example, focus on the arrangement of words which intimates many who are not too familiar with poetry. Lorde, however; believes that poetry is within everyone, making it easier to attain. Poetry can be much of a freestyle, which allows people of all sorts to write and create their own. With much restricted ideas and rules, one is not able to fully write how they feel. Such rigid rules limit people’s imagination and feelings, that is why poetry is essential. Lorde for example, is a well respected writer and she does not mention anything too complex, she basically speaks about her personal experience without the use of a specific structure. Lorde’s inner strength helped her listen to her own authoritative voice instead of altering her behavior to fit such strict writing