Adrienne Rich

Adrienne Rich

16-May-1929


United States


Poet

Adrienne Rich was an American poet, author and illustrator. She was born to Jewish-Protestant parents. Her father encouraged her to read and write at a very young age and at home taught her. She spent most of her time in her father's library filled with the work of great writers. She worked hard to fulfill his father's wishes, and at the age of 22, she came out with his first collection of poems, 'A Change of World'. She is married to Alfred Conrad, Minister of Economy and has three sons. Their marriage became very difficult because of being a partner for women. They broke up and Conrad committed suicide. Much of her work has expressed her views on homosexuality and the fight against homosexuality. Her poems and essays were well received, and she won a series of awards and accolades at various venues. Her poetry collections include 'Guard Cutters', 'Daughter-in-Law Thumbnails', 'Twenty-One Love Poems', 'Natural Patience Has Taken Me Like This', and 'Doorframe's Truth'. Her most acclaimed essays include: 'The Art of Possible: Conversations and Conversations' and 'Compulsory Heter Shops and Lesbian Existence'

QUOTES BY Adrienne Rich


"There must be those among whom we can sit down and weep and still be counted as warriors."

"Lying is done with words, and also with silence."

"Responsibility to yourself means refusing to let others do your thinking, talking, and naming for you; it means learning to respect and use your own brains and instincts; hence, grappling with hard work."

"You must write, and read, as if your life depended on it."

"When a woman tells the truth she is creating the possibility for more truth around her."

"I keep coming back to you in my head, but you couldn't know that, and I have no carbons"

"I feel more helpless with you than without you".""

"No one has imagined us. We want to live like trees, sycamores blazing through the sulfuric air, dappled with scars, still exuberantly budding, our animal passion rooted in the city."

"[Poetry] is the liquid voice that can wear through stone."

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