Writing poetry as a way to explore the unspeakable

In this short video, Poet Adrienne Rich discussed love, poetry, and reading at the 2001 ChilePoesia.

She said, “…it’s in the writing of the poem that you find what you’re not saying and it’s in the writing of the poem that you find what you’re still having to push up against… it’s not so much a question of thinking, but of what the imagination allows itself…poetry was always for me a kind of probe into the unspeakable, because it was a way of speaking indirectly about things I couldn’t speak directly about…”

For a special treat, listen to Rich read her poem “Planetarium.”

Read Carly’s post for more tips on “How to draw from life to write poetry.”