Adrienne Rich was born in Baltimore, MD in 1929. She is a teacher, author and activist and has published over twenty-three volumes of poetry, six critical works, numerous articles, several plays, and works of translation. An early proponent of societal changes that reflect the values and goals of women, Rich is credited with articulating one of the most profound poetic statements of the feminist movement.

Her many awards and honors include the Yale Series of Younger Poets award for her first volume of poetry A Change of World, two Guggenheim fellowships, the National Book Award for Diving into the Wreck: Poems, 1971-1972, Fund for Human Dignity Award, National Gay Task Force, 1981; Los Angeles Times Book Prize nomination, 1982, for A Wild Patience Has Taken Me This Far: Poems, 1978-1981; Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize, Modern Poetry Association and American Council for the Arts, 1986; The Common Wealth Award in Literature, 1991; Robert Frost Silver Medal for Lifetime Achievement in Poetry, Poetry Society of America, 1992; William Whitehead Award of the Gay and Lesbian Publishing Triangle for Lifetime Achievement in Letters, 1992; Lambda Book Award in Lesbian Poetry, 1992, for An Atlas of the Difficult World: Poems, 1988-1991, and 1996, for Dark Fields of the Republic, 1991-1995.

Rich is a member of PEN, Modern Language Association (honorary fellow, 1985-), National Writers Union, Poetry Society of America, American Academy of Arts and Letters, American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She has taught at YM-YWHA Poetry Center New York City, Swarthmore College, Columbia University, City College of the City University of New York, Stanford, and University of Chicago, among others.