– Lorde's difficult relationship with her mother, whom she credits for imbuing her with a certain sense of strength, pervades throughout the book. McCarthyism and the Rosenbergs are also mentioned. Critical reception On November 5, 2019, the BBC News listed Zami: A New Spelling of My Name on its list of the 100 most influential novels. References Further reading Zami: A Portrait of an Artist as a Black Lesbian by Barbara DiBernard 1982 books Black feminist books Lesbian feminist books LGBT literature in the United States LGBT autobiographies Literary autobiographies Works by Audre Lorde English-language novels 1980s LGBT literature Lesbian non-fiction books Novels by Audre Lorde