“Truthfulness, honor, is not something which springs ablaze of itself; it has to be created between people. This is true in political situations. The quality and depth of the politics evolving from a group depends in large part on their understanding of honor. Much of what is narrowly termed "politics" seems to rest on a longing for certainty even at the cost of honesty, for an analysis which, once given, need not be re-examined…It isn't that to have an honorable relationship with you, I have to understand everything, or tell you everything at once, or that I can know, beforehand, everything I need to tell you. It means that most of the time I am eager, longing for the possibility of telling you. That these possibilities may seem frightening, but not destructive to me. That I feel strong enough to hear your tentative and groping words. That we both know we are trying, all the time, to extend the possibilities of truth between us.”

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About Adrienne Rich

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.

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Books by Adrienne Rich

Of Women Born

1976

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Tonight no poetry will serve

2011

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The Best American Poetry 1996

1996

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Fox, Poems 1998-2000

2001

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Arts of the Possible

2001

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