Adrienne Rich

Poet, Essayist, Feminist

Adrienne Rich was a prominent American poet and feminist thinker known for her exploration of women's rights and identity in works like 'Of Woman Born.'

Born
May 16, 1929
Died
March 27, 2012
Quotes
253
Rank
#171

About Adrienne Rich

Adrienne Rich — Life and Legacy

Adrienne Rich was a significant American poet, essayist, and feminist thinker whose work profoundly influenced the discourse on women's rights and identity. Her notable work, 'Of Woman Born,' explores the complexities of motherhood and the societal expectations placed on women, challenging traditional narratives and advocating for women's autonomy. Rich's core thinking revolves around the intersection of personal experience and political consciousness. She famously stated, 'The moment of change is the only poem,' which encapsulates her belief that transformation is a vital aspect of life. This perspective reflects her commitment to understanding the nuances of women's experiences and the societal structures that shape them. By asserting that 'lying is done with words and also with silence,' she emphasizes the importance of honesty and authenticity in both personal and collective narratives, urging women to reclaim their voices. Today, Rich's quotes and ideas continue to resonate, inspiring new generations to confront issues of identity, gender, and power. Her work remains a touchstone for those seeking to navigate the complexities of modern feminism and personal truth, highlighting the enduring relevance of her insights in a world still grappling with these themes.

Quote collection

Adrienne Rich quotes (page 1 of 13)

253 quotes — follow a thought to its full quote page.

Adrienne Rich Poet, Essayist, Feminist
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"An honorable human relationship- that is, one in which two people have the right to use the word "love"- is a process, delicate, violent, often terrifying to both persons involved, a process of refining the truths they can tell each other. It is important to do this because it breaks down human self-delusion and isolation. It is important to do this because in doing so we do justice to our own complexity. It is important to do this because we can count on so few people to go that hard way with us."

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Adrienne Rich Poet, Essayist, Feminist
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"The connections between and among women are the most feared, the most problematic, and the most potentially transforming force on the planet."

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Adrienne Rich Poet, Essayist, Feminist
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"When someone with the authority of a teacher, say, describes the world and you are not in it, there is a moment of psychic disequilibrium, as if you looked into a mirror and saw nothing. Yet you know you exist and others like you, that this is a game with mirrors. It takes some strength of soul--and not just individual strength, but collective understanding--to resist this void, this nonbeing, into which are thrust, and to stand up, demanding to be seen and heard."

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Adrienne Rich Poet, Essayist, Feminist
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"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."

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Adrienne Rich Poet, Essayist, Feminist
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"Change is not a threat to your life, but an invitation to live."

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Adrienne Rich Poet, Essayist, Feminist
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"There must be those among whom we can sit down and weep and still be counted as warriors."

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Adrienne Rich Poet, Essayist, Feminist
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"We need to imagine a world in which every woman is the presiding genius of her own body. In such a world women will truly create new life, bringing forth not only children if and as we choose but the visions, and the thinking, necessary to sustain, console and alter human existence-a new relationship to the universe. Sexuality, politics, intelligence, power, motherhood, work, community, intimacy will develop new meanings; thinking itself will be transformed. This is where we have to begin."

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Adrienne Rich Poet, Essayist, Feminist
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"My heart is moved by all I cannot save: so much has been destroyed I have to cast my lot with those who age after age, perversely, with no extraordinary power, reconstitute the world."

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Adrienne Rich Poet, Essayist, Feminist
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"Courage is not defined by those who fought and did not fall, but by those who fought, fell and rose again."

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Adrienne Rich Poet, Essayist, Feminist
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"The beauty of darkness is how it lets you see."

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Adrienne Rich Poet, Essayist, Feminist
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"If you are trying to transform a brutalized society into one where people can live in dignity and hope, you begin with the empowering of the most powerless. You build from the ground up."

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Adrienne Rich Poet, Essayist, Feminist
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"Behind all art is an element of desire...Love of life, of existence, love of another human being, love of human beings is in some way behind all art — even the most angry, even the darkest, even the most grief-stricken, and even the most embittered art has that element somewhere behind it. Because how could you be so despairing, so embittered, if you had not had something you loved that you lost?"

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Adrienne Rich Poet, Essayist, Feminist
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"Until we know the assumptions in which we are drenched, we cannot know ourselves."

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Adrienne Rich Poet, Essayist, Feminist
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"Language is power... Language can be used as a means of changing reality."

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Adrienne Rich Poet, Essayist, Feminist
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"It is the suffering of ambivalence: the murderous alternation between bitter resentment and raw-edged nerves, and blissful gratification and tenderness"

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Adrienne Rich Poet, Essayist, Feminist
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"I believe that words can help us move or keep us paralyzed, and that our choices of language and verbal tone have something - a great deal - to do with how we live our lives."

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Adrienne Rich Poet, Essayist, Feminist
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"The most notable fact that our culture imprints on women is a sense of our limits. The most important thing a woman can do for another is to illuminate her actual possibilities."

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Adrienne Rich Poet, Essayist, Feminist
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"My children cause me the most exquisite suffering of which I have any experience. It is the suffering of ambivalence: the murderous alternation between bitter resentment and raw-edged nerves, and blissful gratification and tenderness. Sometimes I seem to myself, in my feelings toward these tiny guiltless beings, a monster of selfishness and intolerance."

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