The Burning of Paper Instead of Children (Magill’s Survey of American Literature, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Adrienne Rich
- First Published: 1971
- Type of Work: Poem
- Genres: Poetry
- Subjects: Language or languages, Suffering, Parents and children, Poetry or poets, Fathers, Fire, Impotence
“The Burning of Paper Instead of Children” is a good example of Rich's developing experimental style. Between 1968 and 1970, Rich confronted in her poetry the inability of the language that she had inherited to express the pain both of her own life and of society as it underwent turbulent social change. The results of this experimentation can be seen in Leaflets but are also evident in this collection, The Will to Change. Whereas in her early work, exemplified by “Aunt Jennifer's Tigers,” Rich encapsulated a certain experience, in this experimental vein the poem...
[The entire page is 804 words long]
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