Adrienne Rich

The poet Adrienne Rich passed away.  The NY Times has an excellent obituary:  http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/29/books/adrienne-rich-feminist-poet-and-author-dies-at-82.html?_r=1&hpw#

I encountered her in a class that covered poets who became prominent in the 1960's and 70's.  "Diving into the Wreck" is a great, canonical poem.  That Ms. Rich identified herself as a Jewish lesbian means everything and nothing.  The poem is simply superlative, but knowing a bit about Ms. Rich enhances the poem's richness and depth.  I encourage anyone who has not read Ms. Rich to pick up an anthology such as a The Fact of a Door Frame.

The feeling Ms. Rich's poetry gave rise to is similar to the one I experienced when it was clear that Barack Obama had won the 2008 election.  In the moment of apprehension, I became aware that an entire population now had what I have had and have always taken for granted.  In the case of Barack Obama, it is the silly but important notion American boys have that, "everyone can be President."  Now, every African American boy can share in this notion.  In the case of Adrienne Rich, I became aware that an entire population of writers could write about the world as they encountered and experienced it.  I had always taken that for granted.  The effect of Ms. Rich's poetry opened my eyes and gave me insights into the risk that serious writing entails.  This made me a more careful and better reader.  Above all, however, Ms. Rich wrote brilliantly and enriches the experience of every English-speaking reader who encounters her.