The Power of Adrienne Rich

Hilary Holladay's biography of one of America's important poets occasionally falls into polemic, and Rich's sons disappear from it for long stretches, but it is a strong telling of a life. Maggi-Meg Reed narrates with an engaged and engaging passion. Rich knew most of the significant American poets of her era, and Reed does not attempt to create voices for the many speaking characters. She just gives every bit of quoted text as meaningful and emotional an interpretation as she can without ever overacting. The audiobook is full of life as well as full of the life of a woman who kept rediscovering and reinventing herself over a sixty-year career as a writer and public intellectual. D.M.H. � AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine