Rich, Adrienne

What is Found There: Notebooks on Poetry and Politics with: Ephemera

New York, NY, USA: W.W. Norton & Company, 1993. First Edition, First Printing. Hardcover. “What Is Found There, Adrienne Rich’s extraordinary new collection of prose meditations on the essential place of poetry in our lives and culture, reveals to us the power of the convergence of the engaged political life, the unwavering conscience, and the impassioned poetic imagination. Adrienne Rich is, and always has been, first and foremost a poet – and it is from the character of that powerful engagement with her world, she knows, all of the most compelling acts of the imagination – as well as all of the most meaningful reckonings of ethics – must follow. This is a remarkable document, and an exemplary handbook to the power of poetry in our time.” (David St. Jean, from back cover) In this book of prose by Adrienne Rich (1929-2012), the feminist poet credited with bringing the oppression of women and lesbians to the forefront of poetic discourse, she “uses the poet’s materials – journals and letters, dreams, memories, and close reading of the work of many poets – to reflect on poetry and politics, to consider how they enter and impinge on American life, and what it means to be a citizen in a fragmented country, part of a people turned inward for safety,” as the front flap states. The much-heralded Rich won, among many other prizes, the National Book Award for Poetry, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, and was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 1997 (though she declined the award). We have included with this piece a clipping from the Nov. 30, 2020 issue of The New Yorker which includes a review of Hilary Holladay’s biography The Power of Adrienne Rich, as well as a W.W. Norton-provided photo of Rich by Jason Langer. From the collection of Laurence Goldstein (1943-2023), poet, editor, and professor in the University of Michigan Department of English Language and Literature. Hardcover in unclipped dust jacket. First Edition as stated at copyright page, First Printing as indicated by number sequence thereon. Book in Fine-to-Very Fine condition with light scratching to top of textblock. Interior Fine-Very Fine with some indentation/bumping to bottom of some page leaves. Dust jacket Very Fine with light rubbing to front, back covers & spine and some tiny bumps to edges & corners of same. Fine-Very Fine / Very Fine. [Item #8675]

Price: $50.00