‘The Power of Adrienne Rich: A Biography’ By Hilary Holladay c.2020, Nan A. Talese $32.50/478 pages “Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world,” declared the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley.
Many who love poetry believe this to be true. Yet, few would argue that poets, apart from queer bards Emily Dickinson or Walt Whitman, are household names.
Except for Adrienne Rich. Rich, the lesbian poet and essayist who lived from 1929 to 2012, was as famous as a rock star. Her death was front page news.
A queer icon, Rich was beloved by poetry aficionados and all who worked for justice. (Rich donated $1,000 to Split This Rock, a poetry organization that works for social change.) “I contain multitudes,” Whitman said.