Skip to content
Portrait of Muriel Rukeyser

Muriel Rukeyser

(1913–1980) Poet United States

92 quotes in 385 categories

Muriel Rukeyser writes that there is a hidden cost to making poems, and she wishes for a different city while she lives in the present one. She talks about nurturing the first seeds of ideas, saying that the truth of a poem lives in both its shape and its meaning. She also sees peace as a strong, active force rather than just the lack of war.

Rate this collection: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet

Muriel Rukeyser was a poet from the United States, best known for The orgy.

Quick Facts About Muriel Rukeyser

Born
December 15, 1913
Died
February 12, 1980
Nationality
United States
Profession
Poet
Notable works
The orgy

About Muriel Rukeyser

Muriel Rukeyser was an American poet, essayist, biographer, novelist, screenwriter, and political activist. She wrote across genres and forms, addressing issues related to racial, gender, and class justice, war and war crimes, Jewish culture and diaspora, and American history, politics, and culture. Kenneth Rexroth said that she was the greatest poet of her "exact generation." Anne Sexton famously described her as "beautiful Muriel, mother of everyone"; Adrienne Rich wrote that she was “our twentieth-century Coleridge; our Neruda."

Awards & Honors

Guggenheim Fellowship Shelley Memorial Award Yale Series of Younger Poets Competition

Quotes by Muriel Rukeyser

Muriel Rukeyser by topic