Adrienne Rich whose poetry is "distinguished by an unswerving progressive vision and a dazzling, empathic ferocity" (The New York Times) was the singular voice of her generation. She brought discussions of gender, race and class to the forefront of poetical discourse, pushing formal boundaries and consistently examining both self and society.

This volume traces the evolution of Rich's poetry, from her earliest, formally exact and decorous work to her later poems, which became increasingly radical in both form and content. Displaying the entire body of Rich's poetry, The Collected Poems gathers and commemorates all Rich's boldly political, formally ambitious, thoughtful and lucid work.