Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Audre Lorde's "Moving Out Or The End Of Cooperative Living," written in 1972, is a powerful and scathing critique of the idea of communal living, particularly in a diverse but highly unequal society. The poem offers a vivid glimpse into the harsh realities of living in a housing complex characterized by systemic issues that not only are physical-broken elevators, loud noises-but are also deeply emotional and psychological-"psychic footsteps" and "toilets made of glass."

At its core, the poem grapples with the idea of a "castle of fantasy and forever," a symbol for the American Dream that manifests itself in an apartment building. The inhabitants initially "saved like beggars" to buy into this dream, yet find themselves in a "spectrumed madhouse." Lorde decries not just the decay of the building but the decay of the community within it. "Competing for who pays the highest price for this privilege," the inhabitants are reduced to assaulting "each other with our joint oppression," reflecting how systemic inequities can become internalized, turning people against each other.

A significant part of the poem is devoted to describing the expulsion of a tenant, a moment that seems to encapsulate the breakdown of communal ethos. Lorde paints a grim picture: "he left covered in tangled wires of shame," only for his apartment to be "reconsecrated by an exterminator." This episode serves as a microcosm for how social systems perpetuate alienation and humiliation.

The poem also touches upon the commodification of basic human needs and experiences. Even moving out comes at a hefty price: "workmen will descend at $100 an hour to scrape my breath from the walls." Here, Lorde skillfully uses language to express the dehumanizing aspects of this commodification. The act of erasing one's presence-here symbolized by "breath"-is commodified, detached from any emotional or spiritual significance.

The poem then takes a darker turn, articulating a collective social and moral downfall: "Ordinary people having what they never learned to want themselves and so becoming pretension concretized." In this final lament, Lorde evokes the tragedy of a society where people no longer know what they truly desire, where the lack of genuine aspiration or ambition becomes "concretized" into a perpetuating cycle of hollow pretension.

The historical and cultural context of this poem amplifies its resonance. Written in the early 1970s-a period marked by social movements that questioned traditional American values and systemic inequality-Lorde's work captures the tensions and contradictions of an era. The term "cooperative living" in the title could also be read as a critique of utopian ideals prevalent in various social movements during the period. The poem becomes a cautionary tale, warning of the perils of ignoring the deeply rooted systemic issues that plague any attempt at building a truly equitable and cohesive community.

Audre Lorde, through this poem, delivers a hauntingly vivid and complex portrayal of the failure of an ideal-the collapse of a community dreamt but never realized, and the alienation of individuals caught in this unending cycle of decay. She doesn't just describe a building falling apart; she presents the crumbling of a dream, a social vision that turns out to be deeply flawed. "Moving Out Or The End Of Cooperative Living" serves as a powerful critique of American society and the disillusionment that festers within its foundational promises.

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