Remembering Adrienne Rich

By Dr. Marciene Mattleman

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Adrienne Rich died on March 27th and every major newspaper carried her obituary, many chronicling her eighty-two years as a poet, essayist and activist. As a longtime admirer of her work, I read several articles and found the most interesting in Slate.

Meghan O'Rourke writes that Rich's death "leaves a hole that can't be filled," and describes the writer's search for new and better language, moving from a "precocious 'formalist' in her first published book at 22, to rejecting those forms and making poetry out of the prosaic.

Rich speaks in a strong voice on feminism, war, race, gender, politics and education believing that "change is essential to being free."

April is American Poetry Month and a good time to find your own voice in her wonderful books. My favorite line is from the poem Delta, "…if you think you can grasp me, think again: my story flows in more than one direction…"