Do you recall a moment when revisiting a familiar friend, only to uncover a new facet of their personality? Was it surprising, perhaps a little unsettling, or ultimately enriching? There’s a similar experience awaiting readers who delve into Adrienne Rich’s Tonight No Poetry Will Serve. This collection both resonates with and expands upon the themes that have defined Rich’s influential career, making it a compelling read for both longtime admirers and newcomers to her work.
For readers who have cherished Rich’s consistent voice in feminism and progressive politics, Tonight No Poetry Will Serve offers ample confirmation of these commitments. Rich remains steadfast in her role as a public poet, addressing societal issues with unwavering conviction. Simultaneously, the collection reaffirms her profound ability to explore intimate human relationships through poetry. Crucially, Rich herself resisted any rigid separation between the public and the personal. She passionately argued for the inherent connections between these realms, understanding feminism as deeply intertwined with intimacy, and poetry as an act of profound commitment. This collection beautifully embodies these interwoven impulses.
Rich’s commitment to confronting difficult realities is evident throughout the book. In “Beauty?”, she poignantly defines beauty as “a wall with names of the fallen/from both sides,” a stark image of war’s devastating impact. In “Innocence,” she contrasts this harshness with the simple human desire for comfort, depicting “People craving in their mouths/warm milk over soft white bread.” These juxtapositions highlight Rich’s ability to weave together the personal and political, the beautiful and the brutal.
The poem “From Sickbed Shores” further exemplifies this approach, reminding us of the lingering echoes of suffering: “ear tuned to mute vibrations from an occupied zone:/an old enraged silence still listening for your voice.” The poem culminates in powerful, metaphorical lines about resilience and storytelling:
You could offer any soul-tricking oarsman whatever coin you’re still palming but there’s a divide between the shores of sickness and the legendary, purifying river of death You will have this tale to tell, you will have to live to tell this tale
Through evocative language and carefully chosen imagery, Rich confronts the “horrors of the contemporary world – war, death, hunger, soullessness” without flinching, yet always with an eye towards the enduring strength of the human spirit.
The title poem, “Tonight No Poetry Will Serve,” is a masterclass in blending the personal and political. It opens with tender images of a loved one – “walking barefoot,” observing the moon, and later, “sleep-fallen, naked in your dark hair/asleep but not oblivious/of the unslept unsleeping/elsewhere.” This intimate portrait then takes a sharp turn with the line “Syntax of rendition:,” delving into the power of language to shape our understanding of the world. The poem concludes with the imperative, “now diagram the sentence,” urging readers to actively engage with language and, by extension, with the world around them.
One of the most striking aspects of Tonight No Poetry Will Serve is Rich’s engagement with literary history. The poem “Reading the Iliad (as if) for the First Time” serves as a powerful example. The Iliad becomes a recurring touchstone throughout the collection, with Rich noting how “the lines/pulse into sense” and affirming that “the news you were reading/(who tramples whom) is antique.” This return to foundational texts, like the Iliad, reveals a significant dimension of this collection. While Rich is often celebrated for her dialogues with women writers, Tonight No Poetry Will Serve demonstrates her equally profound engagement with the broader literary canon. This realization might be a revelation even for longtime readers, highlighting the depth and breadth of Rich’s literary landscape.
Among the collection’s many highlights are the five poems comprising “Axel Avákar.” Rich introduces Avákar as a “fictive poet, counter-muse, brother,” a figure dreamed “into existence, did I, boy-/comrade who would love/everything I loved.” These poems stand out for their inventiveness, playfulness, and raw emotional honesty, leaving the reader yearning for a more extensive exploration of this imagined poet.
For those new to Adrienne Rich’s expansive body of work, Tonight No Poetry Will Serve is an excellent starting point. While her extensive bibliography might seem daunting, this collection offers a powerful and accessible entry into her poetic world. It captures the “excitement and electricity” that many readers experience upon first encountering Rich’s poetry, a feeling akin to “talking to my own soul.” Just as “Diving into the Wreck” has served as an impactful introduction for countless students, Tonight No Poetry Will Serve promises to resonate deeply with both new and devoted readers, solidifying Adrienne Rich’s enduring legacy.
TONIGHT NO POETRY WILL SERVE
Poems 2007-2010 By Adrienne Rich
W. W. Norton
Hardcover, 9780393079678, 80pp
January 2011
