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Diving Into The Wreck: Poems 1971-1972

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Adrienne Rich is one of America's best poets, and this is certainly her best collection. To use the word "angst" to describe these poems (as a previous reviewer did) is to diminish these works of volcanic beauty. This collection reads very well as an organic whole, but some of the best individual poems are "Incipience," "The Stranger," and, of course, the title poem. Common themes of awakening and discovery run through this book; I wish that every women would read these poems. Rich finally shakes free of the masculine poetic establishment and rejects male mythology as she writes:

A man is asleep in the next room/ We are his dreams/ We have the heads and breasts of women/ the bodes of birds of prey/ Sometimes we turn into silver serpents

Rich dives into the wreck and comes out transformed. Don't miss this opportunity to explore your own wreck.

You must be willing to dive into your own wreck, get soaking wet, risk getting the bends, and triumph in surviving when you jump
into Adrienne Rich's poems from the early 70's. If there were no date noted on this book, one could place them in the present.
Rich's metaphors hold true even though forty years have passed. Today, my favorite is the one about Talking to the Dead. I think because it
reminds us of all those lost to us as we approach year's end: the ones we loved and the ones we didn't even know. It asks what happens to all that love that doesn't stop
simply because the loved one is gone. Does it rush away like water? Flood the land? Does it burn like embers not quite extinguished?
On a more universal level, we might think of all the potential wasted in needless death, an interpretation that expresses Rich's precept that
the personal is always political. Reflecting on all of the levels of Rich's meaning can give us the means to survive our own wrecks and be willing
to dive with her.

The poems that are included in this book are particulary noteworthy for their angst. Rich weaves words into powerful images that portray her stuggle as a woman, a lover, and as a human being.

This collection of poems was written during the early years (1971-72) of her career as a poet. Although the imagery and voice are understandably not as clearly defined as in her recent work, this book is a must read for anyone who is interested in the development of poetic voice and style.

Adrienne Rich's poetry (and her prose as well) speak with the feminine voice and touch the feminine soul.