Includes bibliographical references (pages 369-393) and index.
Contents:
Foreword ; Poetry and the forgotten future (2006). On lies, secrets, and silence : selected prose 1966-1978. When we dead awaken : writing as re-vision (1971) ; Jane Eyre : the temptations of a motherless woman (1973) ; Vesuvius at home : the power of Emily Dickinson (1975) -- Uncollected. Poetry and experience : statement at a poetry reading (1964) ; from Caryatid : a column (1973) -- Of woman born : motherhood as experience and institution (1976). Foreword ; Anger and tenderness ; Motherhood and daughterhood -- Blood, bread, and poetry : selected prose 1979-1985. What does a woman need to know? (1979) ; Compulsory heterosexuality and lesbian existence (1980) ; Split at the root : an essay on Jewish identity (1982) ; The eye of the outsider : Elizabeth Bishop's Complete poems, 1927-1979 (1983) ; Blood, bread, and poetry : the location of the poet (1984) -- What is found there : notebooks on poetry and politics (1993, 2003). Woman and bird ; Voices from the air ; The distance between language and violence ; Not how to write poetry, but wherefore ; "Rotted names" ; A poet's education ; Tourism and promised lands ; Six mediations in place of a lecture -- Arts of the possible (2001). Muriel Rukeyser : her vision (1993) ; Why I refused the National Medal for the Arts (1997) ; Arts of the possible (1997) -- A human eye (2009). Permeable membrane (2005) ; Poetry and the forgotten future (2006).
Summary:
"Demonstrating the lasting brilliance of her voice and her prophetic vision, 'Essential Essays' showcases Adrienne Rich's singular ability to unite the political, personal, and poetical. The essays selected here by feminist scholar Sandra M. Gilbert range from the 1960s to 2006, emphasizing Rich's lifelong intellectual engagement and fearless prose exploration of feminism, social justice, poetry, race, homosexuality, and identity."--Back cover.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.