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lichenbitten's review against another edition
4.0
Rukeyser was a fiercely political and feminist poet, and her words continue to resonate. This collection gathers some of her most forceful poems, including "The Book of the Dead," "Käthe Kollwitz," and "The Poem as Mask." "The Book of the Dead" is compelling in the way it tells the story of the Hawks Nest Tunnel Disaster, which cost the lives of hundreds of West Virginia workers, by using court testimony and victim statements. Throughout her life, Rukeyser was a political activist and used poetry as a political tool to shine light on the forgotten and the marginalized.
The first poem I ever read by Rukeyser was the stunning "Effort At Speech Between Two People." It is a rhythmic, heartbreaking poem that laments the disconnection and loneliness so many of us feel. When I read it, I felt an instant connection, it was one of my earliest revelations about the power of poetry to make me feel less alone, to diminish some of the distance and separation I felt in the world. Here was a poem that spoke to me of feelings that I knew intimately, feelings that have haunted me my entire life. While it's true that we are, too often, disconnected from one another, Rukeyser's poem impressed upon me the importance of always making an effort to communicate. It's the effort that matters most, even if connection is never achieved.
Personally, I find myself most drawn to the later poems, from the collection "Breaking Open," published in 1973. It includes "Waiting for Icarus," which continues the feminist project of giving voice to women of the past. In the poem, Rukeyser imagines what a lover of Icarus might have thought as she watched him fly away, knowing that she did not have the same freedom to escape. There's also "Poem White Page White Page Poem," which describes the liberating experience of writing, how the words pour "out of a body in waves" and "something like light stands up and is alive."
Muriel Rukeyser did not live her life in silence. She chose to write poetry on subjects both personal and political, historical and quotidian. Above all, she is a ferocious voice is the poetry canon, and I hope more people continue to discover and read her unforgettable work.
The first poem I ever read by Rukeyser was the stunning "Effort At Speech Between Two People." It is a rhythmic, heartbreaking poem that laments the disconnection and loneliness so many of us feel. When I read it, I felt an instant connection, it was one of my earliest revelations about the power of poetry to make me feel less alone, to diminish some of the distance and separation I felt in the world. Here was a poem that spoke to me of feelings that I knew intimately, feelings that have haunted me my entire life. While it's true that we are, too often, disconnected from one another, Rukeyser's poem impressed upon me the importance of always making an effort to communicate. It's the effort that matters most, even if connection is never achieved.
Personally, I find myself most drawn to the later poems, from the collection "Breaking Open," published in 1973. It includes "Waiting for Icarus," which continues the feminist project of giving voice to women of the past. In the poem, Rukeyser imagines what a lover of Icarus might have thought as she watched him fly away, knowing that she did not have the same freedom to escape. There's also "Poem White Page White Page Poem," which describes the liberating experience of writing, how the words pour "out of a body in waves" and "something like light stands up and is alive."
Muriel Rukeyser did not live her life in silence. She chose to write poetry on subjects both personal and political, historical and quotidian. Above all, she is a ferocious voice is the poetry canon, and I hope more people continue to discover and read her unforgettable work.
imperfectcj's review
I thought I'd try to give a book of poetry a try, but I lack the attention span for an entire book of poems, and I couldn't read it before it was due back at the library. I'll have to buy a copy and take my time instead of trying to power through. (Powering through poetry is sacrilege anyway, or at least pointless.)
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