Adrienne Rich
Poet, Essayist, & Scholar
Poet, essayist, and scholar, Adrienne Rich is an influential
writer who has impacted readers across the country through
her work on feminism, identity, and social justice. She
earned a B.A. degree from Radcliffe College in 1951 and
won the Yale Series Younger Poets Award during the same
year, which catapulted her to notoriety.
Encyclopedia Britannica describes Rich as an “American
poet, scholar, teacher, and critic whose many volumes of
poetry trace a stylistic transformation from formal, well-
crafted but imitative poetry to a more personal and
powerful style.” Known for her radical style and anti-war
messages, she often infuses first person narratives in her
poetry and books. For her collection of poetry, Diving
in the Wreck: Poems 1971-1972 (1973), she won the
National Book Award but decided to share the award with
fellow nominees Audre Lorde and Alice Walker and accept
it on behalf of all women.
Rich published a number of other collections including the following: Tonight No Poetry Will Serve: Poems 2007-2010 (2010), The School Among the Ruins: Poems 2000-2004 (2004), Collected Early Poems: 1950-1970 (1993), An Atlas of the Difficult World: Poems 1988-1991 (1991), and The Dream of a Common Language (1978).
She has always written several books of nonfiction prose, reflections on her experiences as a mother, and criticisms of issues impacting society: A Human Eye: Essays on Art in Society, 1997-2008 (2009), Arts of the Possible: Essays and Conversations (2001), and Of Woman Born: Motherhood as Experience and Institution (1976).
Aside from writing, Rich has taught at several institutions including Stanford University and Cornell University. Her poetry, books, and advocacy to raise awareness about women and their role in society led to numerous awards over the decades:
● Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize
● The Lannan Lifetime Achievement Award
● The Bollingen Prize
● The Academy of American Poets Fellowship
● MacArthur “Genius” Award
● Refused the National Medal of Arts from President Clinton stating that “the very meaning of art, as I understand it, is
incompatible with the cynical politics of this administration.”
Sources: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Adrienne-Rich
Adrienne Rich (she/her)
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