Adrienne Rich
Adrienne Cecile Rich (; May 16, 1929 – March 27, 2012) was an American poet, essayist and
feminist. She was called "one of the most widely read and influential poets of the second half of the 20th century", and was credited with bringing "the
oppression of women and
lesbians to the forefront of poetic discourse". Rich criticized the rigid identities that are sometimes created by feminism, called for feminism that is flexible and open to being transformed, and drew attention to the existing current of solidarity and creativity among women, which she named the "lesbian continuum".
Her first collection of poetry, ''A Change of World'', was selected by
W. H. Auden for the
Yale Series of Younger Poets Award. Auden went on to write the introduction to the book. Rich famously declined the
National Medal of Arts to protest
House Speaker Newt Gingrich's vote to end funding for the
National Endowment for the Arts.
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