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Through a wide range of poetic pieces, Adrienne Rich explores in this collection the intricacies of being white, female, lesbian, Jewish, and a U.S. citizen, both at this time of her life and through the lens of her past. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Great book
If you are interested in Rich's work, this book is a must-buy. It contains famous essays (like "Compulsory Heterosexuality") and other key works. It is easy to read, well-organized, and essential for the Rich fan or scholar.

Read this book
This book, and all of Rich's books,are the kind you want to give to everyone you know.Thoroughly enriching.They should be read by all poets, thinkers, women,....and , yes, men too.

Rich vs. Reaganism
"Blood, Bread, and Poetry: Selected Prose 1979-1985" brings together a thought-provoking collection of essays and speeches by Adrienne Rich. A prolific poet, Jewish woman, feminist, lesbian, political activist, and mother of three sons, Rich attempts to bring all of the pieces of herself into play as she confronts a host of intellectual, artistic, and ethical issues.

As the book's subtitle indicates, all of these pieces were written between 1979 and 1985, and thus the book as a whole serves as a valuable document of the intellectual work of a radical thinker under the neo-conservative shadow of the Reagan era. The book also evokes the waning decade of the Cold War.

Rich writes with great passion about feminism, and with great anger about the violence and oppression directed at lesbians from centuries past to the time in which these pieces were written. She often quotes or pays tribute to other writers who have inspired and impacted her: James Baldwin, Audre Lorde, and others.

Rich covers much intriguing ground in these prose pieces. "The Problem of Lorraine Hansberry" may inspire you to re-read Hansberry's classic play "A Raisin in the Sun." "Split at the Root: An Essay on Jewish Identity" is a compelling autobiographical piece that examines her mixed Jewish/gentile heritage, her marriage and life as a mother, and her eventual emergence as a lesbian. A number of essays deal with her interest in the Sandinista revolution of Nicaragua.

Despite the often grim and humorless subject matter, I find Rich to be a remarkably engaging writer. At best, her work is challenging and genuinely thoughtful. As companion texts to this worthwhile collection I recommend the following: Audre Lorde's essay collection "Sister Outsider" and Tony Kushner's two-part play "Angels in America." For complementary perspectives on revolutionary Nicaragua, try the poetry of Gioconda Belli and Daisy Zamora. Finally, check out the two inaugural addresses of Reagan as well as former New York Governor Mario Cuomo's keynote address to the 1984 Democratic Convention; these political speeches can be found in the more recent editions of "A Documentary History of the United States," edited by Richard Heffner.

Rich prose
Adrienne Rich's prose collection Blood, Bread and Poetry spans almost sixteen years of writing.Those who are familiar with Rich's poems will find themselves in familiar intellectual and emotional territories.While I enjoy Rich's poetry much more than her prose (who doesn't enjoy poetry more than prose), Blood,...still had a freshness of voice and language that was surprising for a book that tackles philosophical and political material. For those who are interested in really delving into Rich's poetry (and her writings in general) the book is definitely worth reading at least once. I also feel the book is a must for anyone who is serious about writing. Overall, it was a satisfying read that I've come back to on occasion ... Read more

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Anne Bradstreet, Emily Dickinson, and Adrienne Rich share nationality, gender, and an aesthetic tradition, but each expresses these experiences in the context of her own historical moment.Puritanism imposed stringent demands on Bradstreet, romanticism both inspired and restricted Dickinson, and feminism challenged as well as liberated Rich.Nevertheless, each poet succeeded in forming a personal vision that counters traditional male poetics.Their poetry celebrates daily life, demonstrates their commitment to nurturance rather than dominance, shows their resistance to the control of both their earthly and heavenly fathers, and affirms their experience in a world that has often denied women a voice.

Wendy Martin recreates the textures of these women's lives, showing how they parallel the shifts in the status of American women from private companion to participant in a wider public life.The three portraits examine in detail the life and work of the Puritan wife of a colonial magistrate, the white-robed, reclusive New England seer, and the modern feminist and lesbian activist.Their poetry, Martin argues, tells us much about the evolution of feminist and patriarchal perspectives, from Bradstreet's resigned acceptance of traditional religion, to Dickinson's private rebellion, to Rich's public criticism of traditional masculine culture.Together, these portraits compose the panels of an American triptych.

Beyond the dramatic contrasts between the Puritan and feminist vision, Martin finds striking parallels in form.An ideal of a new world, whether it be the city on the hill or a supportive community of women, inspires both.Like the commonwealth of saints, this concept of a female collectivity, which all three poets embrace, is a profoundly political phenomenon based on a pattern of protest and reform that is deeply rooted in American life.Martin suggests that, through their belief in regeneration and renewal, Bradstreet Dickinson, and Rich are part of a larger political as well as literary tradition.An American Triptych both enhances ourunderstanding of the poets' work as part of the web of American experience and suggests the outlines of an American female poetic. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A mustforanyone interested
This book is a must for anyone interested in the 3 title poets.Wendy Martin does an excellent job in her analysis of these great female poets.She provides necessary backgound information along with correlative interpretation and history of the authors' works.This book is not only a informative and helpful tool, but it is an interesting read. ... Read more

Product Description
Although best known as a poet, Adrienne Rich is a versatile critic and a gifted writer of nonfiction and critical theory. One of America's most outspoken literary figures, her courage in speaking out against injustice in the United States and worldwide has earned her the kind of international political following few American poets enjoy. This book is a much-needed comprehensive study of her life and career. It covers the full progression of her poetry from the beginning through her most recent work. In doing so, it clarifies her entire poetic output and illuminates her concepts of nation, the female body, power, and women's sexuality. ... Read more

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A choice addition to any community or college literary studies collection, highly recommended
The creative mind ages, but it's never dead until the body is. "The Creative Crone: Aging and the Poetry of May Sarton and Adrienne Rich" looks at the work of two poets who kept writing long into their senior years, providing a poignant insight into the mind of the elder woman and how age discrimination the plight of the elderly affects them, allowing readers to gain of understanding on the effects of age. The discussion found within is scholarly and fascinating, debating subjects such as death, being forgotten, and more. "The Creative Crone" is a choice addition to any community or college literary studies collection, highly recommended.
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Celebrates and interprets the work of this major poet and feminist theorist.
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Wonderful
A book that challenges white male hegemonies. Highly recommended ... Read more

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This book pushes beyond modern/postmodern dichotomies to show how Robert Bly and Adrienne Rich, two of America’s most prominent poets, engage in a process that is both dialectic and holotropic as they continually create—through doubling—fuller and more fluid self-identity. Ultimately, their use of alter-selves to deepen their subjectivity and transform otherness expands their voice and vision, culminating late in their careers in a polyphony of self. Bridging literary scholarship and writing pedagogy, this book concludes by illustrating how the two poets’ writing practices offer invigorating models and departure points for writing students in contemporary literature and composition classrooms. ... Read more

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Adrienne Rich's poetry has long engaged critics in questions about the nature of poetic art, the character of poetic tradition, and the value of poetry as a political and cultural activity. At the same time, it has attracted many general readers, largely because it expresses the personal, social, and intellectual crises faced by feminists during the last thirty years.

In this study, Alice Templeton looks at the ways in which feminist thinking has influenced Rich's poetics while, simultaneously, her poetic practice has shaped her feminist conceptions. Templeton begins by exploring the tensions between epic, eulogistic, and lyric claims made in the poems collected in Diving into the Wreck (1973). She then examines the strategies Rich uses in subsequent collections to test and refine her feminist thinking. Templeton focuses, in particular, on the "dialogic moments" of cultural participation that Rich's poetry provides for the poet and the reader. These "moments," Templeton argues, can dispel myths of social determinism even as they implicate readers in an ethically charged communal bond.

By demonstrating the contributions that Rich has made both to feminist thinking and to our ways of reading poetic tradition, The Dream and the Dialogue treats Rich as a poet of ideas and places her work solidly in the context of contemporary literary theory. ... Read more