Work of a Common Woman: The Collected Poetry of Judy Grahn 1964-1977

As a queer, working-class, Oakland-based, Adrienne-Rich-loving poet, I can't believe I haven't read Judy Grahn's poetry before now. So much language in this book spoke directly to me, from Rich's stellar introduction ("for women, the devil has most often taken the form of love rather than of power, gold or learning") to the Common Woman poems ("the common woman is as common as the best of bread / and will rise / and will become strong--I swear it to you"), to the conversations with death ("death, do you tell me I cannot touch this woman? / if we use each other up / on each other / that's a little bit less for you"), to the very last lines in the collection ("until then, my sweethearts, / let us speak simply of / romance, which is so show more much / easier and so much less / than any of us deserve").

Overall, a powerful and beautiful book. And this is the second book Goodreads has recommended that I've liked, so good job, Goodreads! show less