18 pages 36 minutes read

Adrienne Rich

Diving into the Wreck

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1973

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Further Reading & Resources

Related Poems

Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers” by Adrienne Rich (1951)

An early example of Rich’s poetry, from her first collection A Change of World, “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers” maintains a traditional form and rhyme scheme. Criticizing the institution of marriage, it prefigures some of Rich’s later, feminist concerns.

Living in Sin” by Adrienne Rich (1974)

“Living in Sin” also examines a domestic space, exploring the ways in which the reality of a romantic relationship fails to live up to its promise.

Planetarium” by Adrienne Rich (1971)

Rich wrote “Planetarium” thinking about Caroline Herschel, the German astronomer, who worked in the shadow of her more famous brother.

Further Literary Resources

The Long Awakening of Adrienne Rich“ by Maggie Doherty (2020)

In this 2020 New Yorker review of Hilary Holladay’s biography of Rich, critic Maggie Doherty touches on key elements of Rich’s life, politics, and poetics, and identifies some of the actions that have confounded literary scholars and Rich acolytes over the decades.

This 1977 letter to Betty Kray, then executive director of the Academy of American Poets, sheds light on multiple aspects of Rich’s personal life and career, incorporating everything from her feelings on a poetry reading by Japanese women, to her sons’ college decisions, to her involvement in an anthology of New York women poets.

Related Titles

By Adrienne Rich

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Aunt Jennifer's Tigers

Adrienne Rich

Aunt Jennifer's Tigers

Adrienne Rich

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A Valediction Forbidding Mourning

Adrienne Rich

A Valediction Forbidding Mourning

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Living in Sin

Adrienne Rich

Living in Sin

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Necessities of Life

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Necessities of Life

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Planetarium

Adrienne Rich

Planetarium

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Snapshots of a Daughter-in-Law

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Snapshots of a Daughter-in-Law

Adrienne Rich

Plot Summary

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Tonight No Poetry Will Serve

Adrienne Rich

Tonight No Poetry Will Serve

Adrienne Rich

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Vesuvius at Home

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Vesuvius at Home: The Power of Emily Dickinson

Adrienne Rich