XIII. (Dedications) by Adrienne Rich
"XIII. (Dedications)" by Adrienne Rich is a compelling exploration of the relationship between the poet and her readers, emphasizing a profound connection that transcends typical literary boundaries. In this work, Rich addresses twelve distinct types of readers, asserting that her true audience comprises those who seek authenticity in literature, rather than the idealized, stereotypical figures often envisioned. She confronts the complexities of entrapment and freedom, depicting readers who are caught in the mundanity of life yet yearning for escape and deeper meaning. Rich's use of vivid imagery and emotionally charged language resonates with individuals grappling with their own identities in the midst of life's chaos, particularly women who juggle multiple roles and responsibilities.
The poem reflects on the essential nature of language and its capacity to shape our understanding of self and the world. Rich poignantly invites readers to engage intimately with her words, asking them to confront the personal significance they find amidst her varied stylistic choices. Throughout the piece, she emphasizes the need for literary connection, suggesting that despite feelings of isolation, readers are united in their search for meaning. Ultimately, "XIII. (Dedications)" serves as both an invitation and a challenge, urging readers to delve deeper into the complexities of language and their own experiences, thus fostering a communal exploration of existence through literature.
XIII. (Dedications) by Adrienne Rich
Excerpted from an article in Magill’s Survey of American Literature, Revised Edition
First published: 1991 (collected in An Atlas of the Difficult World, 1991)
Type of work: Poem
The Work
Rich boldly proclaims “I know you” to twelve types of readers in “XIII. (Dedications).” She strives to isolate the reader as a way of asserting her intense connection with the authentic readers who approach her work. She is acutely aware that the idyllic poetry readers—the single guy in the coffee shop or group of girls in the basement of the dorm—are not real. She goes even further to imply that even if these readers do exist, they are not the ones to whom she is writing. She does not include in her catalog of readership anyone that would seem typical.
She invades the reader’s personal space, making it impossible for him or her to dismiss the work as nothing more than words on a page. According to Rich, all readers are “stripped” and “listening for something.” She speaks to those who are trapped by life, those living “where the bedclothes lie in stagnant coils on the bed/ and the open valise speaks of flight/ but you cannot leave yet.” Immediately following this characterization of entrapment is one of intense freedom—readers full of dare and blithe who are “running up the stairs/ toward a new kind of love/ your life has never allowed.” She pulls at the heartstrings of a woman searching for the life that she has lost amid “warming milk, a crying child on your shoulder, a book in your hand/ because life is short and you too are thirsty.” Rich reminds her readers that, as literate beings, they all are empty without words. She wants to know what it is that readers find within and between her inconsistent stanza styles, asking to know with which words they struggle and with which words they identify.
The theme of the poem is the natural misreading of language. As a reader, she states you are “turning back once again to the task you cannot refuse,” not daring to dismiss her words yet striving for self-assuredness that you can stand without them. She poignantly warns the reader that though “there is nothing else left to read/ there where you have landed, stripped as you are” you may find solace in the fact that you share this space with those surrounding you who work to find meaning and work to dismiss it as quickly as it is found.
Bibliography
Dickie, Margaret. Stein, Bishop, and Rich: Lyrics of Love, War, and Peace. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1997.
Gwiazda, Piotr. “’Nothing Else Left to Read’: Poetry and Audience in Adrienne Rich’s ’An Atlas of the Difficult World.’” Journal of Modern Literature 28, no. 2 (Winter, 2005): 165-188.
Halpern, Nick. Everyday and Prophetic: The Poetry of Lowell, Ammons, Merrill, and Rich. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 2003.
Keyes, Claire. The Aesthetics of Power: The Poetry of Adrienne Rich. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1986.
O’Reilly, Andrea. From Motherhood and Mothering: The Legacy of Adrienne Rich’s “Of Woman Born.” New York: State University of New York Press, 2004.
Ostriker, Alice. Writing Like a Woman. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1983.
Spencer, Luke. “That Light of Outrage: The Historicism of Adrienne Rich.” English: Journal of the English Association 51, no. 200 (Summer, 2002): 145-160.
Yorke, Liz. Adrienne Rich: Passion, Politics, and the Body. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage Publications, 1998.