In [family snapshots] the flow of profane time has been stopped and a sacred interval of self-conscious revelation has been cut from it by the edge of the picture frame and the light of the sun or the flash.
Adrienne RichI guess what concerns me always is the need for a field, a rich compost, for any art to flourish. But however isolate or unheard you may feel, if you have the need to write poetry, are compelled to write it, you go on, whether there is resonance or not.
Adrienne RichWhen one woman tells her truth, it makes a space for other women to tell their truths.
Adrienne RichThere is no simple formula for the relationship of art to justice...In the end, I donโt think we can separate art from overall human dignity and hope. My concern for my country is inextricable from my concerns as an artist.
Adrienne RichPoetry has always mattered, through human history, through all kinds of cultures, all kinds of violence and human desolation, as well as periods of great human affirmation. It's been associated with the power of the word, with the sacred, with magic and transformation, with the oral narratives that help a people cohere.
Adrienne Rich