Women's Rights Poetry

Who was Denise Levertov?

A poet born in England and moved to the US to become a citizen. She was influenced by William Carlos Williams. Editor for The Nation and taught at the University of Washington and Stanford University.

Who wrote about marriage? What was it about?

Denise Levertov. About wanting an encounter not confinement. Challenging traditional marriage roles. 

Who was Carolyn Kizer? 

Cofounded Poetry Northwest and was an editor. She was the first director of literary programs at the national endowment for the arts. Worked and taught at universities like Princeton and Columbia. Won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry for Yin: New Poems.

Who wrote bitch? what was it about?

Carolyn Kizer. An internal dialogue between a woman and her “bitch” self — a metaphor for suppressed anger and vulnerability.

Who was Adrienne Rich? 

Won the Yale Series of Younger Poets Award (1951) for A Change of World (chosen by W.H. Auden). Her collection Snapshots of a Daughter-in-Law (1963) marks her shift to more personal, feminist writing.

Who wrote Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers?

Adrienne Rich. Aunt Jennifer’s needlework symbolizes her desire for freedom from patriarchal oppression. The tigers represent strength and courage — the traits she can only express in art.

Who wrote power?

Adrienne Rich. About Marie Curie.

Who was Sylvia Plath?

Major figure in both the confessional poetry movement and women’s literature of the 1960s.

Who wrote the Applicant?

Sylvia Plath. Depicts women as products or “applicants” for the role of wife

Who was Audre Lorde.

Described herself as a “Black, lesbian, feminist, socialist, mother, warrior, poet.” Studied at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Taught at Tougaloo College in Mississippi.

who wrote a litany for survival? 

Audre Lorde. “it is better to speak remembering we were never meant to survive.”

Who was Marge Piercy?

Author of 17 novels, including Gone to Soldiers, and over 20 poetry collections. Educated at the University of Michigan and Northwestern University.

Who wrote the friend?

Marge Piercy. a poem about emotional abuse.