We can only marvel at their poetry and poetic feeling, at their poetic inspiration, and at the power and fluidity of language itself. A sense of awe fills many of the poems in this section, an awe which is itself part of the poetic tradition the woman poet inherits. Of course, women poets are not abnormal just as women cannot be defined solely by biology. They are not overly concerned with their reception in critical circles even though, during the first seventy years of this century and earlier, aesthetic opinion was dominated by men and masculine expectations and not necessarily inclined to perceive a woman poet as anything other than some perverse Medusa or a Proserpina gone wild. In spite of this atmosphere, or perhaps in response to it, most of these poets reflect on their experiences of living, exploring topics ranging from war to childbirth, from the gathering of poke-berries to the experience of abortion.
Nothing is taboo.
These women, like others, are beginning to examine their relationships to each other and to individual cultures. In this poem, all women who want to remain strong in the face of oppression can draw power and energy from each other and their own positions. It is an expression that goes beyond white and black to recognize . . . Suggested Supplemental Readings Erkkila, Betsy. Women Poets, Literary History, and Discord .