Diving into the Wreck Lyrics

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About

Genius Annotation

The title of this famous Adrienne Rich poem suggests going into the past – looking down upon and becoming immersed in the remains of a disaster – and perhaps journeying into one’s personal history as well. “Diving” suggests that the wreckage takes effort to get to: it belongs, in a sense, to another world.

“Diving into the Wreck” is the title piece of a poetry collection for which Rich received the National Book Award for Poetry in 1974. She accepted the award alongside fellow female nominees Alice Walker and Audrey Lorde “…on behalf of all women.”

For more information on the National Book Awards, and Rich’s acceptance speech, see here.

For more critical responses to this poem, see the Modern American Poetry site, run by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

  1. 7.
    From the Prison House (Missing Lyrics)
  2. 9.
    Song
  3. 11.
    Diving into the Wreck
  4. 13.
    Merced (Missing Lyrics)
  5. 14.
    A Primary Ground (Missing Lyrics)
  6. 18.
    Rape
  7. 21.
    For a Sister (Missing Lyrics)
  8. 24.
    August
  9. 25.
    Meditations for a Savage Child (Missing Lyrics)
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