Adrienne Richs Later Poetry: Raya Dunayevskaya and Marxist-Humanism

Reorienting understandings of Adrienne Richs later work through her interest in Marx and Marxist politics, this book engages with this overlooked part of her oeuvre through considerations of issues such as race, nationhood, and gender. From 1983 onward, after she visited revolutionary Nicaragua until the end of her life, Richs political vision can best be described as Marxist-Humanist. Until recently, very little attention has been paid to Richs interest in Marx; there is no in-depth treatment of the effect of Marxs humanistic philosophy on Richs later work, or even on her unwavering, but altered dedication to Womens Liberation. This book fills this gap, showing how Richs discovery of Marxs humanism affected her poetry. In doing so, it makes a significant intervention into debates about the direction of American poetics and argues powerfully for a greater consciousness of political engagement through poetry. See more