Read By: Jenny Xie

Jan 17, 2021

Jenny Xie on her selection:  

Rich’s words are ones I’ve revisited, during this time of intersecting and unfurling crises, to help me think through the efficacy of the arts—particularly poetry—to respond to the clamor, the turmoil, and the extraordinary pressures of this moment. What civic responsibility do artists and writers bear? And what does it mean to write and read poetry that attempts to make sense of what’s at stake in our time? The moral clarity of Rich’s rhetoric is bracing. Her words offer a resolute commitment and a summons, along with a necessary reminder of what revolutionary power lies in hearing differently, speaking differently, imagining differently—in that hard labor of committed attention. 

Poetry and Commitment: An Essay, by Adrienne Rich 

 

Intro and outro from "Shift of Currents" by Blue Dot Sessions // CC BY-NC 2.0

View all episodes

Categories:
Tags:

© 2026 The Young Men’s and Young Women’s Hebrew Association

All Rights Reserved.

All material accessed via the 92NY website (“content”) is protected by copyright under U.S. Copyright laws and is the property of The Young Men’s and Young Women’s Hebrew Association or the party credited as the provider of the content. You may not copy, reproduce, distribute, publish, display, perform, modify, create derivative works, transmit, or in any way exploit any such content, nor may you distribute any part of this content over any network, including a local area network, sell or offer it for sale, or use such content to construct any kind of database. You may not alter or remove any copyright or other notice from copies of the content accessed via 92NY’s website. Copying or storing any content except as provided above is expressly prohibited without prior written permission of 92NY or the copyright holder identified in the individual content’s copyright notice.

If you are a rights holder and have found your material on our website for which you have not granted permission (or is not covered by a copyright exception under US copyright laws), please contact us so that we may obtain and document accurate rights-related information. Upon email request to archive@92ny.org, we will temporarily remove material from public view while we address any rights issue and will honor takedown requests from authors who do not wish to have their work published.