The impact of poetry on the life of Adrienne Rich is described in her book 'What is Found There: Notebooks on Poetry and Politics.' Rich describes the influence of Rilke, Auden, Eliot and Stevens on her work at various times in her life, from her decision to be a poet in her twenties in post-War US, to her use of the work of Stevens to see her through a writer's block. Poetry for Rich is less a product than a force, striving for the ideal against the complacency of the status quo. For about three years I have been consciously trying to wrestle with the meanings of poetry in my life, not just ...
