Muriel Rukeyser (1913-1980)

[BenL]

It's a damp, cool fall afternoon in my part of New England, so instead of taking my lunchtime walk, I sauntered over to the public library. Wandering through the stacks, I ended up in the poetry section. As I browsed the shelves, there was a large volume of the Collected Poems of Muriel Rukeyser. I had never heard of her. (I marvel at the gaps in my liberal education.) I flipped through the book and read poem after poem. I was blown away by the images, the emotion, the language. How did I miss her all these years?

Learn more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muriel_Rukeyser

or here: http://www.glbtq.com/literature/rukeyser_m.html

[Zerbie]

Oh thank you!!

She was the favorite poet represented in an old used book I had called something like "gay and lesbian poetry," which my mother threw out when I got married (along with all my other "gay" books. - they were stored in my parents' garage.) I just ran across her poem in that book, and the book by accident. Was never exposed to her work in any kind of class, nothing. Was she under-rated or something? Seriously, she was an accomplished artist.

I have been hoping to suddenly remember her name for about 2 years now so I could look up more of her stuff. She was really, really good.

Soon as I saw this thread title I jumped: That's it! That's her name! That's the poet I tried to remember!

Thank you Ben!!
:D

[BenL]

Oh thank you!!

She was the favorite poet represented in an old used book I had called something like "gay and lesbian poetry," which my mother threw out when I got married (along with all my other "gay" books. - they were stored in my parents' garage.) I just ran across her poem in that book, and the book by accident. Was never exposed to her work in any kind of class, nothing. Was she under-rated or something? Seriously, she was an accomplished artist.

I have been hoping to suddenly remember her name for about 2 years now so I could look up more of her stuff. She was really, really good.

Soon as I saw this thread title I jumped: That's it! That's her name! That's the poet I tried to remember!

Thank you Ben!!
:D

Sounds like bicoastal serendipity to me. Glad to break that knot of forgetfulness for you. Go borrow or buy a book of her poetry. It's worth curling up with. Many of the images are harsh, but so, so many more are intimate and loving. Her politics were radical Left, but her poetry is marvelously inclusive of the human condition.