Adrienne Cecile Rich American poet, essayist Date of Birth: 16.05.1929 Country: USA

Biography of Adrienne Rich

Adrienne Rich was an American poet, essayist, and feminist activist, considered one of the most influential figures of the second wave of feminism. She was born on May 16, 1929, in Baltimore, Maryland, to a Jewish father, a renowned biologist and physician, and a Methodist mother, who was a pianist and composer.

Rich attended Radcliffe College in Cambridge, where she graduated with a degree in English. In 1951, she made her literary debut with the publication of her first poetry collection, "A Change of World," which earned her the prestigious Yale Younger Poets Prize, personally chosen by W.H. Auden, who also wrote the foreword for the book.

In 1966, Rich moved to New York City with her husband, economist Alfred Conrad, and their three sons. It was during this time that she became involved with the New Left and actively participated in anti-war demonstrations and the civil rights movement. However, their marriage ended in divorce in the late 1960s, and tragically, Conrad took his own life in 1970.

In 1976, Rich began a relationship with Jamaican-born writer Michelle Cliff, and they lived together until Rich's death. Throughout her career, Rich held teaching positions at prestigious universities such as Columbia, Rutgers, Brandeis, Stanford, Cornell, and Bryn Mawr College. She was also an active participant in public life, advocating for social justice and equality.

Rich authored 25 books of poetry, 6 collections of essays and notes, and was widely recognized as one of the leading poets of the late 20th and early 21st centuries in the United States. Her works gained particular acclaim for their exploration of gender, motherhood, and lesbian identity. Some of her notable publications include "Of Woman Born: Motherhood as Experience and Institution" (1976) and the feminist essay "Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence" (1980), which later became part of her book "Blood, Bread, and Poetry" (1986).

Throughout her career, Rich received numerous awards and honors for her poetry, including the National Book Award for her collection "Diving into the Wreck" (1974), which she shared with Audrey Lord and Alice Walker. She was also awarded the Robert Frost Medal (1992), the Poet's Prize for "Atlas of the Difficult World" (1992), the Lambda Literary Award for "Dark Fields of the Republic" (1995), the Wallace Stevens Award (1996), the Bollingen Prize (2003), the National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters (2006), and the Griffin Poetry Prize Lifetime Achievement Award (Canada, 2010), among others.

In 1991, Rich became a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and in 2002, she was appointed Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets. Rich passed away on March 27, 2012, due to complications from rheumatoid arthritis. She left a lasting legacy as a groundbreaking poet, fierce feminist, and advocate for social change.