Adrienne Rich :: Tributes Gather

Adrienne Rich, the poet who changed poetry and from her poetry changed the lives of women, died this year on March 28. The New York Times printed her obituary on the front page, a singular honor and testament to the poet, writer, essayist, lesbian, feminist, and scholar who’s life’s work would comprise over thirty books and numerous prizes. The New Yorker stated: “The death of Adrienne Rich marks not only the end of a long and transcendent literary career . . . but the end of a kind of poetry that mattered in the world beyond poetry.” The New York Times wrote: “ . . . a poet of towering reputation and towering rage, whose work — distinguished by an unswerving progressive vision and a dazzling, empathic ferocity — brought the oppression of women and lesbians to the forefront of poetic discourse and kept it there for nearly a half-century . . . .”  ~ Donna Fleischer

There are six events for Adrienne Rich to occur this fall. All are open to the public:

Monday, October 1, 2012, 8:00 pm in Cambridge, MA – the Blacksmith House Poetry Series hosts Tribute to Adrienne Rich. 42 Brattle Street, Cambridge, MA. Tickets $3.00. Someone from the Rich family will speak briefly. http://www.ccae.org/events/blacksmith.html .

Sunday, October 28, 2012, 4:00 pm at the Stata Center, MIT, Cambridge, MA – The New Words Remnants Collective, Women, Action & the Media (WAM !) and The Graduate Consortium of Women’s Studies presents Reading and Remembering Adrienne Rich: A Celebration and Tribute with Alison Bechdel, Robin Becker, Cynthia Enloe, Evelynn Hammonds, and Kate Rushin. 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge, MA. This is a free event with open seating without tickets or reservations. Directions: http://whereis.mit.edu/).

In early November Adrienne Rich’s lifelong publisher, W. W. Norton will publish
Later Poems: Selected and New 1971 – 2012.

Friday, November 9, 2012, 8:00 pm in New York City, NY at the 92nd Street Y,
1395 Lexington Ave and 92nd Street. Someone from the Rich family will speak briefly. http://www.92y.org/Event/A-Tribute-to-Adrienne-Rich.aspx .

Tuesday, November 13, 2012, 7:00 pm in Hartford, CT – the Charter Oak Cultural Center hosts A Tribute to Adrienne Rich, organized by Bessy Reyna with presentations by Donna Fleischer, Yehudit Heller, Randall Horton, and John Stanizzi, and readings of her work by Norah Christianson, Ginny Connors, Lorna Cyr, James Finnegan, David Garnes, Catherine Hoyser, Elizabeth Kincaid-Ehlers, Leslie McGrath, Nancy Otter, Kate Rushin, Jessica Treat, and Faith Vicinanza.  21 Charter Oak Avenue, Hartford, CT.  For further information visit this link: http://www.charteroakcenter.org/ .

Sunday, December 2, 2012, time TBA, in Santa Cruz, CA – Bookshop Santa Cruz hosts Robert Hass, Brenda Hillman, Bettina Aptheker, Michael Warr, and others to be announced. Santa Cruz High School Auditorium, 415 Walnut Avenue, downtown Santa Cruz, CA. Someone from the Rich family will speak briefly. Around October 20, this event will be listed online with more information at the following link: http://www.bookshopsantacruz.com/event/2012/12/18/month/all/all/1 .

Adrienne Rich reads poems appearing in Leaflets, The Will to Change (1971), Diving into the Wreck (1973), and The Fact of a Doorframe (2002) :

Adrienne Rich Reads Selections from 1971 through 2002

Adrienne Rich / The Poetry Foundation

Selected Obituaries at Word Pond

Information compiled by Donna Fleischer