Letter to the Front

Muriel Rukeyser

1944

To be a Jew in the twentieth century
Is to be offered a gift. If you refuse,
Wishing to be invisible, you choose
Death of the spirit, the stone insanity.
Accepting, take full life. Full agonies:
Your evening deep in labyrinthine blood
Of those who resist, fail, and resist; and God
Reduced to a hostage among hostages.
The gift is torment. Not alone…
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Creator Bio

Muriel Rukeyser

1913–1980

Born in New York City and educated at Vassar College and Columbia University, Muriel Rukeyser was a poet deeply committed to the ideals of social justice, equality, and feminism. Her first book, Theory of Flight, published in 1935, earned her the Yale Younger Poets prize. Her politically inspired poetry dealt with industrial disasters, the Scottsboro Case, the Spanish Civil War, and the war in Vietnam.

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