Rich, Adrienne

Midnight Salvage: Poems 1995-1998

ISBN: 0393046826
New York, NY, USA: W.W. Norton & Company, 1990. First Edition, First Printing. Hardcover. "These are risky poems, infused with the cruelty of history, the presence of the body, the beauty of the natural world, with human love and longing." (front flap). Midnight Salvage: Poems 1995–1998 is a collection of poems by American poet, essayist, feminist & notable lesbian Adrienne Rich (1929-2012) that sits in the later part of Rich's career, when she was in her late sixties and writing some of her most politically searching work. It continues the concerns that define Rich's mature poetry: the relationship between private life & public history, American social injustice, memory, aging, exile, and the question of what poetry can actually do in a damaged world. The title itself captures a lot of the book's spirit: the work of recovering something worth keeping from wreckage, whether personal, historical, or political. The long poem "A Long Conversation" (pgs. 53-69) closes the book and is one of its centerpieces, mixing verse & prose and weaving in political & economic argument (including echoes of Marx) alongside intimate reflection. The poem "Modotti" (pgs. 19-20) finds Rich engaging with the Italian-American photographer & revolutionary Tina Modotti (1896-1942), which is characteristic of Rich's interest in female artists who lived politically committed lives. Ultimately Midnight Salvage: Poems 1995-1998 is a strong late-career collection, admired for its intelligence & moral seriousness. From the collection of Laurence Goldstein (1943-2023), poet, editor, and professor in the University of Michigan Department of English Language and Literature. Harcover in Unclipped Dust Jacket: First Edition as stated at copyright page, first printing per number sequence thereon. A most collectible Rich poetry entry in its rarest contemporary form with relevant association & distinguished provenance. Book in relatively very fine condition with very mild rubbing to fine edges of front, back covers & spine; occasions of very mild spot-staining to top of text block. Interior very fine with no discernible flaws. Dust Jacket very fine with very mild rubbing to front, back covers & spine. Very Fine / Very Fine. [Item #9005]

Price: $40.00