Response to Adrienne Rich video

Adrienne Rich is so representative of what the identity poets were all about. At lawyersgarden.blogspot.com, there is a great description of the characteristics, ideas, and drive behind the identity poets. Some of what was shared was that these poets tend to focus on the underrepresented part of the population, which changes as times change. They tend to zone in on what a particular group is experiencing during a particular time period in history, or what a particular group of people who are deviating from the norm of what is expected in society may be experiencing. They state the truth regarding the true identity of these groups of people and challenge the stereotypes that may exist. They become the voice for those who may not be heard or who may not be strong enough to make themselves be heard. Their poetry serves as a tool to educate and open the minds of people to issues that they may not have been aware of or chose to ignore.

This video shows various pictures of Adrienne Rich at different points in her life, which symbolizes the woman as a whole. This emphasizes the point that we are a result of all of what we have experienced in life; not just parts. The spoken words from this video can also be located at www.poets.org without the visual of the video. The experiences in her life are reflected in the tone and focus of her poetry. It was stated that at first she was writing as if she was a princess in a fairytale and then her content became increasingly confrontational. This shift occurred after she gave birth to 3 sons before the age of 30. Her themes focused on what was currently going on during that time period, which was how women's role in society was being viewed in a different way, racism, and the Vietnam War. She also began to use more free verse as opposed to the structure of careful metric patterns. This shift seems to indicate that maybe she had followed a more structured lifestyle with her husband and now she is breaking away from that to develop her own free style.

The headstone for her ex-husband which was portrayed in this video was quite disturbing. It stated, "I TOLD YOU THE MILK WAS BAD. I NOTICE YOU DIDN'T HAVE ANY." This is a direct attack on Adrienne Rich as a mother because a mother's ability to provide milk to her newborn baby is expected of all new mothers. The inability to be able to do this makes a mother feel like a failure and like she is missing out on a true mothering experience.

The poem that was read on the video, "Rape," demonstrated a theme of injustice and inequality. It represented what is wrong with the judicial system and society and how women are being the target for violent crimes. There was a tone that nothing in being done to effectively make a difference.

The whole idea behind the Identity Poets is a direct correlation to what the City at Peace program is all about. This is a youth empowerment program where they have a chance to share their story and create an original musical drama based on what is shared by the 80 inner city youth who are chosen for the program. The youth are taught that they have the power to make a difference in the world and that it starts with making your voice be heard. Poets like Adrienne Rich helped to move people in the direction to be able to advocate for themselves and to be motivated to make a difference in the world.