poems for April 4

Passionate political activist, feminist who appeared in the 50’s, Adrienne Rich says that “Art means nothing if it simply decorates the table of the power which holds it hostage.” You can hear her read her poems on the right hand column at this site. http://article.wn.com/view/2012/03/30/Feminist_poet_and_essayist_Adrienne_Rich_dies_at_82/ 3 poems by Adrienne Rich: What Kind of Times Are These Delta The Burning of Paper Instead of Children I chose the final poem in Ellen Bryant Voigt's book "Kyrie" (published 1995) which tells of the 1918 influenza epidemic through a sequence of linked blank verse sonnets which addresses some of its repercussions. There are sonnets of reflections; sonnets about different people, like Mattie, the Doctor; sonnets that are strictly metaphor. The epilogue, written in six tercets draws the curtain with a snow storm Epilogue: by Ellen Bryant Voigt