Reading these selections of Muriel Rukeyser's poems, affords us a double opportunity. We can look at each poem individually as Rukeyser's assertion on or expression of a particular moment, experience, issue, or circumstance. We can also read selected poems in relation to each other and trace threads of Rukeyser's "preoccupations." One way to approach this particular volume is to read her poems which allude to or adapt historical/mythological figures. These poems constitute distinct, complete entities. But they also stand in relation to each other through the common context of myth. Try these:
"Judith"
"The Minotaur"
"The Poem as Mask: Orpheus"
"Myth"
"Ms. Lot"
"Waiting for Icarus"
Then complement your reading with a reading from an extended cycle of poems, such as those selected from: Letter to the Front.
Then, if you are interested, here is a link to the FBI's file on Muriel Rukeyser.
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