A Wild Patience Has Taken Me This Far: Poems, 1978-1981 [Hardcover]

Adrienne Cecile Rich (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1982

“We are in the presence here of a major American poet whose voice at mid-century in her own life is increasingly marked by moral passion.”—New York Times Book Review

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“In this collection, Ms. Rich has shown both a deep knowledge of her subject, women, and a fine mastery of her craft, timeless contemporary poetry. Above all, she has not abandoned the struggle of 'trying to live/in a clear-headed tenderness' and translating her efforts into critical signposts for those who follow.” (Kansas City Star ) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

Adrienne Rich's honors include the National Book Foundation’s Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. She lives in California. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 61 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; 1st edition (January 1982)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393014940
• ISBN-13: 978-0393014945
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,355,744 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I adore this book, my first of Adrienne Rich's!, August 27, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: A Wild Patience Has Taken Me This Far: Poems 1978-1981 (Paperback)

Rich's poetry is really very intense. It tends to undulate between being ethereal and straight-forward. The first poem really impressed me... especially the line "Two women sleeping together have more than sleep to defend." I really recommend this book. It was my first of Rich's work and I've since gotten 3 of her other books and plan on getting more when I finish reading them.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lovely, October 11, 2006

By 

E. B. MULLIGAN "Bronwyn" (Tampa, Florida) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Wild Patience Has Taken Me This Far - Poems 1978-1981 (Paperback)

I bought this particular collection because the author's work was highly recommended in books by artist/author/poet Tee Corinne.

I figured it was a not to be missed book and so it is.

The only thing missing from this slender volume, that I find is often illuminating, is an introduction or afterward from the author.

From the publisher's website -

"In this collection, Ms. Rich has shown both a deep knowledge of her subject, women, and a fine mastery of her craft, timeless contemporary poetry. Above all, she has not abandoned the struggle of 'trying to live/in a clear-headed tenderness' and translating her efforts into critical signposts for those who follow."--Kansas City Star

"We are in the presence here of a major American poet whose voice at mid-century in her own life is increasingly marked by moral passion."--New York Times Book Review

"Rich's poems do not demand the willing suspension of disbelief. They demand belief, and it is a measure of her success as a poet that most of the time they get it. . . . The affirmation and the occasional moments of pure joy in these poems are quiet but fully earned."--Margaret Atwood, New York Times Book Review

One of our country's most distinguished poets, Adrienne Rich was born in Baltimore in l929. Over the last forty years she has published more than sixteen volumes of poetry and four books of nonfiction prose. Rich's work has achieved international recognition and has been translated into German, Spanish, Swedish, Dutch, Hebrew, Greek, Italian, and Japanese. She has received numerous awards, fellowships, and prizes, including the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize, the Lenore Marshall/Nation Prize for Poetry, the Fund for Human Dignity Award of the National Gay Task Force, the Lambda Book Award, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Poetry, the National Book Award, the Poet's Prize, the MacArthur Fellowship, and, most recently, the Dorothea Tanning Prize of the Academy of American Poets and the Lannan Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award (2000). Since l984 she has lived in California.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rich, December 12, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: A Wild Patience Has Taken Me This Far: Poems 1978-1981 (Paperback)

This book knocks me out. There are poems in here you'll want to commit to memory just to keep her words close to you all of the time. Reading and studying her poetry has made me a smarter woman.