Adrienne Rich, 82, died of complications from rheumatoid arthritis on Tuesday, March 28, at her home in Santa Cruz, CA. With twelve collections of poetry and five works of nonfiction and essay, Rich made an indelible mark on feminist, political, gay rights, and anti-war issues. Her accolades include the 1974 National Book Award, the 2004 National Book Critics Circle Award, a MacArthur “genius” grant, two Guggenheim Fellowships, the Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize, and the Wallace Stevens Award—her debut collection won her the 1951 Yale Younger Poets Prize. USA Today reported that, according to W.W. Norton, Rich’s publisher, her books have sold nearly 800,000 copies, which is relatively unheard of for a poet.

“She was very courageous and very outspoken and very clear,” said W.S. Merwin, longtime friend of Rich’s and former Poet Laureate of the United States. “She was a real original, and whatever she said came straight out of herself.”

Rich taught at Columbia University, Rutgers, Cornell, and Stanford, as well as in many other universities and colleges. Over the course of her career, her poems protested the Vietnam War, critiqued motherhood, marriage, family, gender inequality, and disparities in wealth. Her words worked to stand up for the weak, to raise issues, and to give strength. Of her diverse achievements, Merwin said Rich is a difficult poet to define, having gone through so many phases in her career.

As Rich wrote in her poem, “Delta,” “if you think you can grasp me, think again.”

Listen to Rich read some of her poems at The Poetry Foundation and Poets.org.

Sources: USA Today and The New York Times