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Adrienne Rich was born in Baltimore in 1929. She married Alfred Conrad in 1953 but they separated in 1970. Shortly after, Alfred committed suicide.
Rich began to strongly identify with the Women’s Rights movement. She came out as a lesbian in 1976, beginning a relationship with Michelle Cliff. A lot of her poetry is about women and their place in the world.
From 1986 to 1993, she was Professor of English at Stanford University.

Here is some brief information about the poetry of Adrienne Rich that is on your course.

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More detailed information can be found further down the page.

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Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers.
This poem is about a woman called “Aunt Jennifer” who seems to have had a very tough life at the hands of her husband.
The Uncle Speaks In The Drawing Room.
In this poem, a very arrogant man speaks about what is going on in society. He says that he has seen angry people looking at the big houses, thinking of attacking them.
The Roofwalker.
In this poem, Rich uses the metapor of a roof to explain how exposed and unsafe she feels.
Trying To Talk With A Man.
Here, Rich uses the metaphor of a desert to illustrate how dead her relationship is.
From A Survivor.
This poem is addressed to her husband, who died soon after they split up. It was written several years after this happened.
Storm Warnings.
Adrienne Rich here uses the metaphor of an approaching storm to explain how she is feeling.
Living In Sin.
A poem about the difficulties a young woan is having in her relationship with her boyfriend.
Our Whole Life.
This poem is about the difficulties men and women have in communicating with each other.
Diving Into The Wreck.
This poem, althoug it is not immediately clear, is about Rich’s attempt to look at the way relationships between men and women go, and to see if a better way can be found.