Poets, Female

Sappho, a Greek poet whose work remains only in fragments, is one of the foremothers of poetry in the Western tradition. Although women have been central to the history of poetry, at various times female poets have been dismissed and minimized, sometimes with the gendered label “poetess.” In spite of this, women poets have created an impressive body of work. At the beginning of the second millennium, there is new recognition of contemporary female poets, new publishing opportunities for women poets exist, and critical appraisal of the work of female poets from the past continues.

There are no themes or styles that define poetry by women. Female poets, like male poets, write poetry that is diverse, idiosyncratic, and defies categorization. The work of an individual woman poet is loyal only to her own vision and sensibility. For every major poetic movement, there are women engaged in its aesthetic practices. During the 20th century, women poets were major innovators, for example, in modernism, confessionalism, and L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E poetry. During the Women's Liberation Movement in the 1970s and 1980s, poetry was both an artistic and a political practice, shaping and promoting the goals of feminism. Today, women poets write narrative poetry, lyric poetry, epic poetry, formal poetry, and free verse, among many other types of poetry. Women poets engage with tradition and innovation, supporting a vibrant contemporary poetics.

Equal representation in journals, book publishing, and anthologies is important for female poets. Women poets are represented in all major journals, though their numbers as contributors and editors vary widely. In 2007, Juliana Spahr and Stephanie Young surveyed anthologies of experimental poetry for their inclusion of women; they found that while the number of women had increased during the 1990s as a result of feminist interventions, in most anthologies, the number of women included was still below 50 percent. In the Spahr and Young survey, the place in the world of poetry where women have the most equity is in book publishing at university presses.

Even though there is not gender parity in book publishing, women poets are published by all major publishing houses and by small, independent poetry publishers. Established poets like Adrienne Rich, Rachel Blau DuPlessis, Marilyn Hacker, Rita Dove, Alicia Ostriker, Marie Ponsot, Carolyn Forche, and Sharon Olds have committed commercial publishers. Emerging poets like Meg Kearney, Lyrae Van Clief-Stefanon, Christina Davis, Elizabeth Bradfield, and Sandra Beasley have published exciting first books of poetry, primarily at small, independent presses. Some of them have published acclaimed second books or have anticipated second books in press. In spite of the prominence of women poets in publishing, there remains a need for publishing dedicated to the work of women poets. New, small presses dedicated [Page 1110]to publishing women poets have launched recently, including Perugia Press, Kore Press, and Arktoi Press.

While women have made strides in publishing and received concomitant recognition for their work, sexist exclusion continues. Recently, however, women poets broke new barriers. In 2009, the poet laureates of the United States and the United Kingdom were both women. (Poet laureates are appointed by the government and charged with representing poetry nationally.) In May 2009, Queen Elizabeth II appointed Carol Ann Duffy as poet laureate of the United Kingdom. Duffy is the first woman to occupy the position in the three centuries. The Library of Congress appointed Kay Ryan poet laureate in the United States in July 2008. Of the 49 poet laureates (or consultants in poetry, as the position was titled between 1937 and 1986), 12 have been women (25 percent). While the history of national poet laureates is one of exclusion, more women are being appointed to these positions, providing a partial remedy.

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