Muriel Rukeyser Played an Important Role in the History of Feminism and Poetry. She Was

In the reading, “The Poetical is the Political” the author discusses how poetry is important to the women’s movement. Poems were used to raise consciousness among the listeners.Poetrywas more practical to the everyday person because it could be produced in the small amounts of spare time busy women had (Reed).The personal experiences that were used in poetry were able to reach through different boundaries and unite women. Poetry is used as a structure to bring the ideas of the struggle women face into the public eye. The poetry movement helped women recognize the different ways they were marginalized in their lives;poetry often expressed interconnections between race, class, and gender. Many women used the eye opening experiences of other authors to rewrite their own work and to rethink the role of women in the past (Reed). The feminist movement also helped to uncover previous writings of women that were often looked over. Reinterpreting these works lead to a greater understanding of the experiences women often faced.

Muriel Rukeyser played an important role in the history of feminism and poetry. She was accredited for giving up a safe career to become a part of the social struggle to advance women(Reed). Rukeyser mentions in her poem “The Poem as Mask” [AH1]that she has written before. This ties in directly to the piece by Reed discussing how women would often criticize their own work. “The Poem as Mask” is a self-criticizing piece that focuses on the changes Rukeyser had made within her own life. Rukeyser mentions masks in her poem, how everything she use to write was a mask for what she was really experiencing (Rukeyser).

When Reed mentioned that poetry was economical for all women, meaning that it was simple enough to write at any time, I immediately agreed. I really think that poetry is a quick way to share feelings and beliefs. Poetry has changed so much throughout the years becoming a necessary means for feminist women to spread their ideals. On page 90, Reed mentions how poems drew upon personal experiences often involving race and gender. These experiences were used to combat the racist ways of the women’s movement. The battle with the racist ways of the movement was similar to the removal of the masks in Rukeyser’s poem. Rukeyser realized the different ways she was censoring herself for society, in doing so she was willing to take a new look at her old works, and really analyze them.

Poetry[AH2] has become an available tradition for women to build upon (Reed). The poets of the past have created a new path for the younger generations of writers. This allows the future generations to really dig deep within the meanings of the previous works and forge new works based on their ideas. By taking off their masks, the poets of the past helped to take masks off the current generations of readers too. We could not be where we are today without the works of the women before us.

Works Cited

Reed, T. V. "The Poetical Is the Political: Feminist Poetry and the Poetics of Women's Rights." Feminist Theory Reader (2005): 85-97. Book.

Rukeyser, Muriel. "The Poem as Mask." Feminist Theory Reader (1968): 84. Book.

[AH1]Good connection!

[AH2]Nice point!