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Muriel Rukeyser (December 15, 1913 – February 12, 1980) was an American poet and political activist, best known for her poems about equality, feminism, social justice, and Judaism.
Kenneth Rexroth Kenneth Charles Marion Rexroth (1905–1982) was an American poet, translator, and critical essayist. He is regarded as a central figure in the San Francisco Renaissance, and paved the groundwork for the movement. Although he did not consider ...
said that she was the greatest poet of her "exact generation". One of her most powerful pieces was a group of poems titled ''The Book of the Dead'' (1938), documenting the details of the Hawk's Nest incident, an industrial disaster in which hundreds of miners died of
silicosis Silicosis is a form of occupational lung disease caused by inhalation of crystalline silica dust. It is marked by inflammation and scarring in the form of nodular lesions in the upper lobes of the lungs. It is a type of pneumoconiosis. Silico ...
. Her poem "To be a Jew in the Twentieth Century" (1944), on the theme of Judaism as a gift, was adopted by the American Reform and Reconstructionist movements for their
prayer books A prayer book is a book containing prayers and perhaps devotional readings, for private or communal use, or in some cases, outlining the liturgy of religious services. Books containing mainly orders of religious services, or readings for them are ...
, something Rukeyser said "astonished" her, as she had remained distant from Judaism throughout her early life.


Early life

Muriel Rukeyser was born on December 15, 1913 to Lawrence and Myra Lyons Rukeyser. She attended the Ethical Culture Fieldston School, a private school in The Bronx, then
Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, closely followi ...
in Poughkeepsie. From 1930 to 32, she attended Columbia University. Her literary career began in 1935 when her book of poetry ''Theory of Flight'', based on flying lessons she took, was chosen by the American poet Stephen Vincent Benét for publication in the ''
Yale Younger Poets Series The Yale Series of Younger Poets is an annual event of Yale University Press aiming to publish the debut collection of a promising American poet. Established in 1918, the Younger Poets Prize is the longest-running annual literary award in the Uni ...
''.


Activism and writing

Rukeyser was active in progressive politics throughout her life. At age 21, she covered the Scottsboro case in Alabama, then worked for the International Labor Defense, which handled the defendants' appeals. She wrote for the ''
Daily Worker The ''Daily Worker'' was a newspaper published in New York City by the Communist Party USA, a formerly Comintern-affiliated organization. Publication began in 1924. While it generally reflected the prevailing views of the party, attempts were m ...
'' and a variety of publications, including ''Decision'' and ''Life & Letters Today'', for which she covered the
People's Olympiad The People's Olympiad ( Catalan: ''Olimpíada Popular'', Spanish: ''Olimpiada Popular'') was a planned international multi-sport event that was intended to take place in Barcelona, the capital of the autonomous region of Catalonia within the Spa ...
(Olimpiada Popular, Barcelona), the
Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...
government's alternative to the Nazis'
1936 Berlin Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics ( German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad ( German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi- ...
. While she was in Spain, the Spanish Civil War broke out, the basis of her book ''Mediterranean''. Most famously, she traveled to
Gauley Bridge Gauley Bridge is a town in Fayette County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 614 at the 2010 census. The Kanawha River is formed at Gauley Bridge by the confluence of the New and Gauley Rivers. Two miles to the southeast of Gaule ...
, West Virginia, to investigate the recurring
silicosis Silicosis is a form of occupational lung disease caused by inhalation of crystalline silica dust. It is marked by inflammation and scarring in the form of nodular lesions in the upper lobes of the lungs. It is a type of pneumoconiosis. Silico ...
among miners there, which resulted in her poem sequence ''The Book of the Dead''. During and after World War II, she gave a number of striking public lectures, published in her ''The Life of Poetry''
excerpts here
. For much of her life, she taught university classes and led workshops, but she never became a career academic. In 1996, Paris Press reissued ''The Life of Poetry'', which was published in 1949 but had fallen out of print. In a publisher's note, Jan Freeman called it a book that "ranks among the most essential works of twentieth century literature." In it Rukeyser makes the case that poetry is essential to democracy, essential to human life and understanding. In the 1960s and 1970s, when Rukeyser presided over PEN's American center, her feminism and opposition to the Vietnam War drew a new generation to her poetry. The title poem of her last book, ''The Gates'', is based on her unsuccessful attempt to visit Korean poet
Kim Chi-Ha Kim Jiha ( ko, 김지하; 4 February 1941 – 8 May 2022) was a South Korean poet and playwright.LTI Korea Author Database: http://klti.or.kr/ke_04_03_011.do# Biography Kim Jiha was born Kim Yeongil on 4 February 1941 in Mokpo, Jeollanam-do. ...
on death row in South Korea. In 1968, she signed the " Writers and Editors War Tax Protest" pledge, vowing to refuse tax payments in protest against the Vietnam War. In addition to her poetry, she wrote a fictionalized memoir, ''The Orgy'', plays and screenplays, and translated work by Octavio Paz and
Gunnar Ekelöf Bengt Gunnar Ekelöf (15 September 1907, in Stockholm – 16 March 1968, in Sigtuna) was a Swedish poet and writer. He was a member of the Swedish Academy from 1958 and was awarded an honorary doctorate in philosophy by Uppsala University in 1958. ...
. She also wrote biographies of
Josiah Willard Gibbs Josiah Willard Gibbs (; February 11, 1839 – April 28, 1903) was an American scientist who made significant theoretical contributions to physics, chemistry, and mathematics. His work on the applications of thermodynamics was instrumental in t ...
, Wendell Willkie, and Thomas Hariot.
Andrea Dworkin Andrea Rita Dworkin (September 26, 1946 – April 9, 2005) was an American radical feminist writer and activist best known for her analysis of pornography. Her feminist writings, beginning in 1974, span 30 years. They are found in a dozen solo ...
worked as her secretary in the early 1970s. Also in the 1970s she served on the Advisory Board of the Westbeth Playwrights Feminist Collective, a New York City based theatre group that wrote and produced plays on feminist issues. Rukeyser died in New York on February 12, 1980, from a stroke, with diabetes as a contributing factor. She was 66.


In other media

In the television show '' Supernatural'', Metatron the angel quotes an excerpt of Rukeyser's poem "Speed of Darkness": "The Universe is made of stories, not of atoms."
Jeanette Winterson Jeanette Winterson (born 27 August 1959) is an English writer. Her first book, '' Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit'', was a semi-autobiographical novel about a sensitive teenage girl rebelling against convention. Other novels explore gender pol ...
's novel ''Gut Symmetries'' (1997) quotes Rukeyser's poem "King's Mountain". Rukeyser's translation of a poem by Octavio Paz was adapted by
Eric Whitacre Eric Edward Whitacre (born January2, 1970) is an American composer, conductor, and speaker best known for his choral music. In March2016, he was appointed as Los Angeles Master Chorale's first artist-in-residence at the Walt Disney Concert Hall ...
for his choral composition "
Water Night ''Water Night'' is one of composer Eric Whitacre's earliest works, written in 1995 during his attendance at University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and commissioned by the Dale Warland Singers. It is written for SATB choir ''a cappella'' with three, four ...
." John Adams set one of her texts in his opera ''
Doctor Atomic ''Doctor Atomic'' is an opera by the contemporary American composer John Adams, with libretto by Peter Sellars. It premiered at the San Francisco Opera on October 1, 2005. The work focuses on how leading figures at Los Alamos dealt with the gre ...
'', and
Libby Larsen Elizabeth Brown Larsen (born December 24, 1950) is a contemporary American classical composer. Along with composer Stephen Paulus, she is a co-founder of the Minnesota Composers Forum, now the American Composers Forum. A former holder of the P ...
set the poem "Looking at Each Other" in her choral work ''Love Songs''. Writer Marian Evans and composer Chris White are collaborating on a play about Rukeyser, ''Throat of These Hours'', titled after a line in Rukeyser's ''Speed of Darkness''. The '' JDT: Journal of Narrative Theory, a publication from Eastern Michigan University,'' dedicated a special issue to Rukeyser in Fall 2013. Rukeyser's 5-poem sequence "Käthe Kollwitz" (The Speed of Darkness, 1968, Random House) was set by Tom Myron in his composition "Käthe Kollwitz for Soprano and String Quartet," "written in response to a commission from violist Julia Adams for a work celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Portland String Quartet in 1998." Rukeyser's poem "Gunday's Child" was set to music by the experimental rock band
Sleepytime Gorilla Museum Sleepytime Gorilla Museum (often abbreviated to SGM) was an American experimental rock band, formed in 1999 in Oakland, California. The band fused classical, industrial, and art-rock themes throughout their music. They were known to perform elabo ...
.


Personal life

She was bisexual.


Awards

*
Yale Younger Poets Award The Yale Series of Younger Poets is an annual event of Yale University Press aiming to publish the debut collection of a promising American poet. Established in 1918, the Younger Poets Prize is the longest-running annual literary award in the Uni ...
(1935) with ''Theory of Flight'' * Harriet Monroe Poetry Award (the first) *
Levinson Prize Levinson is an Ashkenazi Jewish surname meaning "son of Levi". Notable people with the surname include: * André Levinson (1887–1933), French dance journalist * Arik Levinson, American economist * Arthur D. Levinson (born 1950), American busi ...
* Copernicus Prize * Guggenheim Fellowship


Works

; Rukeyser's original collections of poetry *''Theory of Flight''. Foreword by Stephen Vincent Benet. New Haven: Yale Uni. Press, 1935. Won the
Yale Younger Poets Award The Yale Series of Younger Poets is an annual event of Yale University Press aiming to publish the debut collection of a promising American poet. Established in 1918, the Younger Poets Prize is the longest-running annual literary award in the Uni ...
in 1935. *''Mediterranean.'' Writers and Artists Committee, Medical Bureau to Aid Spanish Democracy, 1938. *''U.S. 1: Poems''. Covici, Friede, 1938. *''A Turning Wind: Poems''. Viking, 1939. * ''The Soul and Body of John Brown.'' Privately printed, 1940. With etchings by
Rudolph von Ripper Rudolph Charles von Ripper (January 29, 1905 – July 9, 1960) (born Rudolph Carl von Ripper, sometimes Rudolph RipperAfter the abolition of the Austrian nobility in 1919, Austrian nobles were no longer entitled to use 'von' in their names. How ...
. *''Wake Island''. Doubleday, 1942. *''Beast in View''. Doubleday, 1944. *''The Green Wave: Poems''. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1948. Includes translations of Octavio Paz poems and rari. * ''Orpheus.'' Centaur Press, 1949. With the drawing "Orpheus" by Picasso. *''Elegies''. New Directions, 1949. *''Selected Poems''. New Directions, 1951. *''Body of Waking: Poems''. NY: Harper, 1958. Includes translated poems of Octavio Paz. *''Waterlily Fire: Poems 1935-1962''. NY: Macmillan, 1962. *''The Outer Banks''. Santa Barbara CA: Unicorn, 1967. 2nd rev. ed., 1980. *''The Speed of Darkness: Poems''. NY: Random House, 1968. *''29 Poems''. Rapp & Whiting, 1972. *''Breaking Open: New Poems''. Random House, 1973. *''The Gates: Poems''. NY: McGraw-Hill, 1976. ; Fiction by Rukeyser *''Savage Coast : A Novel.'' Feminist Press, 2013. ; Plays by Rukeyser * ''The Middle of the Air.'' Produced in Iowa City, IA, 1945. * ''The Colors of the Day: A Celebration of the Vassar Centennial.'' Produced in Poughkeepsie, NY, at Vassar College, June 10, 1961. * ''Houdini.'' Produced in Lenox, MA, at Lenox Arts Center, July 3, 1973. Published as ''Houdini: A Musical,'' Paris Press, 2002. ; Children's books *''Come Back, Paul.'' Harper, 1955. * ''I Go Out.'' Harper, 1961. Illustrated by Leonard Kessler. * ''Bubbles.'' Harcourt, Brace & World, 1967. * ''Mazes.'' Simon & Schuster, 1970. Photography by Milton Charles. *''More Night.'' Harper & Row, 1981. Illustrated b
Symeon Shimin
; Memoirs by Rukeyser *''The Orgy: An Irish Journey of Passion and Transformation''. London: Andre Deutsch, 1965; NY: Pocket Books, 1966; Ashfield, MA: Paris Press, 1997. ; Works of criticism by Rukeyser *''The Life of Poetry''. NY: Current Books, 1949; Morrow, 1974; Paris Press, 1996. ; Biographies by Rukeyser *''Willard Gibbs: American Genius'', 1942. Reprinted by the Ox Bow Press, Woodbridge CT. Biography of
Josiah Willard Gibbs Josiah Willard Gibbs (; February 11, 1839 – April 28, 1903) was an American scientist who made significant theoretical contributions to physics, chemistry, and mathematics. His work on the applications of thermodynamics was instrumental in t ...
, physicist. *''One Life''. NY: Simon and Schuster, 1957. Biography of Wendell Willkie. *''The Traces of Thomas Hariot''. NY: Random House, 1971. Biography of Thomas Hariot. ; Translations by Rukeyser * ''Selected Poems of Octavio Paz.'' Indiana University Press, 1963. Rev. ed. published as ''Early Poems 1935-1955,'' New Directions, 1973. * ''Sun Stone.'' Octavio Paz. New Directions, 1963. * ''Selected Poems of Gunnar Ekelöf.'' With Leif Sjöberg. Twayne, 1967. * ''Three Poems.''
Gunnar Ekelöf Bengt Gunnar Ekelöf (15 September 1907, in Stockholm – 16 March 1968, in Sigtuna) was a Swedish poet and writer. He was a member of the Swedish Academy from 1958 and was awarded an honorary doctorate in philosophy by Uppsala University in 1958. ...
. T. Williams, 1967. * ''Uncle Eddie's Moustache.''
Bertolt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known professionally as Bertolt Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a pl ...
. 1974. * ''A Molna Elegy: Metamorphoses.'' Gunnar Ekelöf. With Leif Sjöberg. 2 volumes. Unicorn Press, 1984. ; Edited collections of Rukeyser's works * ''The Collected Poems of Muriel Rukeyser.'' McGraw, 1978. * ''Out of Silence: Selected Poems.'' Edited by Kate Daniels. Triquarterly Books, 1992. *''A Muriel Rukeyser Reader''. Norton, 1994. *''The Collected Poems of Muriel Rukeyser''. University of Pittsburgh Press, 2005.


References


Further reading

* Barber, David S. "Finding Her Voice: Muriel Rukeyser's Poetic Development." Modern Poetry Studies 11, no. 1 (1982): 127–138 * Barber, David S. "'The Poet of Unity': Muriel Rukeyser's Willard Gibbs." CLIO: A Journal of Literature, History and the Philosophy of History 12 (Fall 1982): 1–15; "Craft Interview with Muriel Rukeyser." New York Quarterly 11 (Summer 1972) and in The Craft of Poetry, edited by William Packard (1974) * Daniels, Kate, ed. Out of Silence: Selected Poems of Muriel Rukeyser (1992), and "Searching/Not Searching: Writing the Biography of Muriel Rukeyser." Poetry East 16/17 (Spring/Summer 1985): 70–93 * Gander, Catherine. Muriel Rukeyser and Documentary: The Poetics of Connection (EUP, 2013) * Gardinier, Suzanne. "'A World That Will Hold All The People': On Muriel Rukeyser." Kenyon Review 14 (Summer 1992): 88–105 * Herzog, Anne E. & Kaufman, Janet E. (1999) "But Not in the Study: Writing as a Jew" in ''How Shall We Tell Each Other of the Poet?: The Life and Writing of Muriel Rukeyser''. * Jarrell, Randall. Poetry and the Age (1953) * Kertesz, Louise. The Poetic Vision of Muriel Rukeyser (1980) * Levi, Jan Heller, ed. A Muriel Rukeyser Reader (1994) * Myles, Eileen,
Fear of Poetry
" Review of ''The Life of Poetry'', ''The Nation'' (April 14, 1997). This page includes several reviews, with much biographical information. * Pacernick, Gary. "Muriel Rukeyser: Prophet of Social and Political Justice." Memory and Fire: Ten American Jewish Poets (1989) * Rich, Adrienne. "Beginners." Kenyon Review 15 (Summer 1993): 12–19 * Rosenthal, M.L. "Muriel Rukeyser: The Longer Poems." In New Directions in Prose and Poetry, edited by James Laughlin. Vol. 14 (1953): 202–229; * Rudnitsky, Lexi
"Planes, Politics, and Protofeminist Poetics: Muriel Rukeyser's ''Theory of Flight'' and The Middle of the Air
" ''Tulsa Studies in Women's Literature'', v.27, n.2 (Fall 2008), pp. 237–257, DOI: 10.1353/tsw.0.0045 * "A Special Issue on Muriel Rukeyser." Poetry East 16/17 (Spring/Summer 1985); * Thurston, Michael,

" ''Modern American Poetry'', retrieved January 30, 2006 * Turner, Alberta. "Muriel Rukeyser." In Dictionary of Literary Biography 48, s.v. "American Poets, 1880–1945" (1986): 370–375; UJE; * "Under Forty." Contemporary Jewish Record 7 (February 1944): 4–9 * Ware, Michele S. "Opening 'The Gates': Muriel Rukeyser and the Poetry of Witness." Women's Studies: An Introductory Journal 22, no. 3 (1993): 297–308; WWWIA, 7.


External links


Muriel Rukeyser: A Living Archive
Ongoing project by Eastern Michigan University featuring creative content by Rukeyser as well as critical resources and creative responses by artists and scholars.
Muriel Rukeyser papers, 1844–1986
at the Library of Congress
Guide to the Muriel Rukeyser Papers
at the Vassar College Archives and Special Collections Library

by Michael Thurston, ''Modern American Poetry'', retrieved January 30, 2006
"The Book of the Dead"
by Muriel Rukeyser
Muriel Rukeyser's FBI filesPennSound page
(audio recordings). {{DEFAULTSORT:Rukeyser, Muriel 1913 births 1980 deaths American feminists American tax resisters American women poets Bisexual women Bisexual writers Columbia University alumni Ethical Culture Fieldston School alumni Jewish American poets Jewish feminists Jewish women writers LGBT Jews LGBT poets American LGBT writers Sarah Lawrence College faculty Vassar College alumni Yale Younger Poets winners 20th-century American poets 20th-century American women writers LGBT people from New York (state) Bisexual academics Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters