“The I you know isn’t me, you said, truthtelling liarMy roots are not my chainsAnd I to you:   Whose hands have grownthrough mine?   Owl-voiced I cried then:   Who?But yours was the one, the only eye assumedDid we turn each other into liars?holding hands with each others’ chains?”

American poet, essayist and feminist

Adrienne Rich was an American poet, essayist, and feminist. She was known as one of the most widely read and influential poets of the second half of the 20th century. Her work brought the oppression of women and lesbians into the center of poetic discussion. She also challenged rigid ideas of identity within feminism, arguing for a feminism that could change and remain open, and she drew attention to the long current of solidarity and creativity among women, which she called the lesbian continuum.