The Life of Poetry [Paperback]

Observing that poetry is a natural part of our pastimes and rituals, Muriel Rukeyser opposes elitist attitudes and confronts Americans' fear of feeling. Multicultural and interdisciplinary, this collection of essays and speeches makes an irrefutable case for the centrality of poetry in American life.

•Sold through Inland in F95, then Cancelled Advanced 1,700 copies •This has long been out of print even though Rukeyser enjoys the following that Adrian Rich and Anne Sexton have •First Published by Coward McCan, 1994 HC Wm Morrow did PB in 1974—both these texts contined errors that have been corrected in this edition. •New Introduction by Jane Cooper •Rukeyser taught at Sara Lawrence and Vassar • Author of Buried Houses and The Country I Remember (Story Line Press) an “exceptional teachable text; anticipate heavy, steady textbook adoptions.” Competing titles: MURIEL RUKEYSER READER (Norton 0-393-03566-2, $15.00 Contains an excerpt of The Life of Poetry

The Life of Poetryhas the urgency of saying what one believes in the face of crisis— crisis of the spirit and crisis in the world…. Rukeyser's book is about poetry, always, and also about much more … modern film, jazz, war, science, musical comedy, her own childhood and youth…. A brilliant mind fiercely at work. THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW

“Muriel Rukeyser loved poetry more than anyone I’ve ever known. She also believed it could change us, move the world. This deep and challenging book is a testament to her faith that we need not encounter Poetry with fear. That openness to Poetry opens us to our most essential inner life.”ALICE WALKER

“The Life of Poetryis a lost American classic restored to us by Paris Press. In 1949 Rukeyser understood the breadth and potential of our continent’s poetries as few have done since… as we look in the face olc/