An Atlas of the Difficult World (Masterplots II: Poetry, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Adrienne Rich
- First Published: 1991
- Type of Work: Poetic sequence
- Genres: Poetry, Lyric sequence
- Subjects: History, North America or North Americans, Suffering, United States or Americans, Prisons, Love or romance, Twentieth century, Nature, Social issues, Art or artists, Poetry or poets, New England, California, West, U.S., Human race, Spiritual life or spirituality, Beauty, Native Americans or American Indians, Immigration or emigration, Violence, Feminism, Women’s issues, Jews or Jewish life, Anti-Semitism, Criticism, Death or dying, Lifestyles, San Francisco, Pacific Northwest, Environment or environmental health, Morality or morals, Maps, Holocaust
The Poem
“An Atlas of the Difficult World” is a long poem divided into thirteen sections or short poems that relate experiences and observations. The sections are of varying length and are identified only by roman numerals, except for the seventh and the final ones, parenthetically titled “(The Dream-Site)” and “(Dedications),” respectively. Although in the poem the persona, or poetic voice, is often an assumed identity, Adrienne Rich’s poetic journey is enriched by personal images and observations. In this, her thirteenth volume of poetry, Rich provides readers...
[The entire page is 2542 words long]
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