We may feel bitterly how little our poems can do in the face of seemingly out-of-control technological power and seemingly limitless corporate greed, yet it has always been true that poetry can break isolation, show us to ourselves when we are outlawed or made invisible, remind us of beauty where no beauty seems possible, remind us of kinship where all is represented as separation.
Interpretation
Poetry serves as a powerful medium to connect us and express our humanity, despite overwhelming challenges.
In this quote, Adrienne Rich emphasizes the profound role of poetry in navigating the complexities of modern existence, particularly in the face of technological dominance and corporate greed. She asserts that while poetry may appear insignificant against these vast forces, it possesses the unique ability to foster connection, reflection, and a sense of beauty and kinship, even in isolation and adversity. Through poetry, we can reclaim our humanity and find solace amidst overwhelming societal pressures.
In practice
Citing this quote in a poetry reading to highlight the power of words in challenging times.
My children cause me the most exquisite suffering of which I have any experience. It is the suffering of ambivalence: the murderous alternation between bitter resentment and raw-edged nerves, and blissful gratification and tenderness. Sometimes I seem to myself, in my feelings toward these tiny guiltless beings, a monster of selfishness and intolerance.
The word revolution itself has become not only a dead relic of Leftism, but a key to the deadendedness of male politics: the revolution of a wheel which returns in the end to the same place; the revolving door of a politics which has liberated women only to use them, and only within the limits of male tolerance.
A president cannot meaningfully honor certain token artists while the people at large are so dishonored.'”
There is no 'the truth','a truth' - truth is not one thing, or even a system. It is an increasing complexity. the pattern of the carpet is a surface. When we look closely, or when we become weavers, we learn of the tiny multiple threads unseen in the overall pattern, the knots on the underside of the carpet
It is the suffering of ambivalence: the murderous alternation between bitter resentment and raw-edged nerves, and blissful gratification and tenderness
It's as if, in the mother's eyes, her smile, her stroking touch, the child first reads the message:'You are there!'
All the seven deadly sins are peccadilloes but without three of them, Pride, Lust, and Sloth, poetry might never have been born.
Creation exists only in the unforeseen made necessary.
It doesn't matter if you use a box camera or you use a Leica; the important thing is what motivates you when you are photographing.
Asking a working writer what he thinks about critics is like asking a lamp-post what it feels about dogs.
I write about characters that interest me. And I don't think of my books as being forms of entertainment.
A director makes only one movie in his life. Then he breaks it into pieces and makes it again.
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