Breaking of Taboo Essay -- Literacy Analysis

The Breaking of Taboo Adrienne Rich was a very critically acclaimed and widely read poet of her era. Ms. Rich was a rebellious pioneer in expressing her viewpoint through her poetry in what was considered highly taboo topics of her time, such as, politics, lesbianism, and feminism. Adrienne Rich was born on May 16, 1929 in Baltimore, Maryland .Her father was renowned pathologist at John Hopkins University, Dr. Arnold Rich, and her mother Helen Elizabeth Rich, was a concert pianist and composer. Adrienne began writing at a very early age, with the encouragement of her father. As a child she grew up reading works from her fathers extensive library from Tennyson, Keats, Arnold. Blake. Rossetti. Swinburne, Carlyle, and Patter (Booth). Adrienne attended college at A. B. Radcliffe College, and graduated in 1951. In her final year at Radcliffe, her collection, A Change of World, was selected by, W. H. Auden for the Yale Series of Younger Poets award. In 1953 Adrienne married Alfred Conrad, an economics professor at Harvard, whom she had meet while she was an undergraduate student at Harvard. During their marriage they had three children, David, Paul, and Jacob. In the mid- 60’s Adrienne became very involved in Vietnam anti war protests, feminist, and civil right issues. As time went on Alfred thought she was losing her mind because of the obsession and devotion she had to these causes. This created quite a bit of tension in their marriage. In 1970 she separated from Alfred, which lead to his suicide a few months later. Rich’s early works were very traditional and structured. Her style mirrored the poets who she read extensively as a child. As Rich progressed in her writings, her styled changed drastically. Rich took on a dialogue... ... J. Mays. The Norton Introduction to Literature. 10th. New York: W.W. Norton, 2010. 876. Print. Brown, Maressa. "6 Powerful Adrienne Rich Quotes Every Woman Should Read." The Stir, 12 Mar. 2012. Web. 19 Apr. 2012. Meredith, May. "Adrienne Rich: 1929-2012 / Feminist poet turned personal into political." San Francisco Chronicle (10/1/2007 to present) 29 Mar. 2012: A1. Newspaper Source Plus. Web. 22 Apr. 2012. Rich, Adrienne, comp. Twenty-One Love Poems. 2nd. Emeryville, Ca.: Effie's Press, 1977. Web. 19 Apr. 2012. Rich, Adrienne. Collected Early Poems 1950-1970. 1st. New York: W.W. Norton, 1993. 419. Print. Rich, Adrienne. Dark Fields of the Republic 1991-1995. New York: W.W. Norton, 1995 3. Print. Schuduel, Matt. "Adrienne Rich, feminist poet who wrote of politics and lesbian identity, dies at 82." 28 Mar. 2012, n. p. Web. 15 Apr. 2012. Breaking of Taboo Essay -- Literacy Analysis The Breaking of Taboo Adrienne Rich was a very critically acclaimed and widely read poet of her era. Ms. Rich was a rebellious pioneer in expressing her viewpoint through her poetry in what was considered highly taboo topics of her time, such as, politics, lesbianism, and feminism. Adrienne Rich was born on May 16, 1929 in Baltimore, Maryland .Her father was renowned pathologist at John Hopkins University, Dr. Arnold Rich, and her mother Helen Elizabeth Rich, was a concert pianist and composer. Adrienne began writing at a very early age, with the encouragement of her father. As a child she grew up reading works from her fathers extensive library from Tennyson, Keats, Arnold. Blake. Rossetti. Swinburne, Carlyle, and Patter (Booth). Adrienne attended college at A. B. Radcliffe College, and graduated in 1951. In her final year at Radcliffe, her collection, A Change of World, was selected by, W. H. Auden for the Yale Series of Younger Poets award. In 1953 Adrienne married Alfred Conrad, an economics professor at Harvard, whom she had meet while she was an undergraduate student at Harvard. During their marriage they had three children, David, Paul, and Jacob. In the mid- 60’s Adrienne became very involved in Vietnam anti war protests, feminist, and civil right issues. As time went on Alfred thought she was losing her mind because of the obsession and devotion she had to these causes. This created quite a bit of tension in their marriage. In 1970 she separated from Alfred, which lead to his suicide a few months later. Rich’s early works were very traditional and structured. Her style mirrored the poets who she read extensively as a child. As Rich progressed in her writings, her styled changed drastically. Rich took on a dialogue... ... J. Mays. The Norton Introduction to Literature. 10th. New York: W.W. Norton, 2010. 876. Print. Brown, Maressa. "6 Powerful Adrienne Rich Quotes Every Woman Should Read." The Stir, 12 Mar. 2012. Web. 19 Apr. 2012. Meredith, May. "Adrienne Rich: 1929-2012 / Feminist poet turned personal into political." San Francisco Chronicle (10/1/2007 to present) 29 Mar. 2012: A1. Newspaper Source Plus. Web. 22 Apr. 2012. Rich, Adrienne, comp. Twenty-One Love Poems. 2nd. Emeryville, Ca.: Effie's Press, 1977. Web. 19 Apr. 2012. Rich, Adrienne. Collected Early Poems 1950-1970. 1st. New York: W.W. Norton, 1993. 419. Print. Rich, Adrienne. Dark Fields of the Republic 1991-1995. New York: W.W. Norton, 1995 3. Print. Schuduel, Matt. "Adrienne Rich, feminist poet who wrote of politics and lesbian identity, dies at 82." 28 Mar. 2012, n. p. Web. 15 Apr. 2012.