Marge Piercy is one the most celebrated American women poets of the 20th century, creating works surrounding the issues of social justice, feminism, Judaism, and the human experience. Marge Piercy’s poetry is known for its vivid image, intensity, and personal free verse, writing about her own personal experiences and social concerns surrounding women’s lives.
Until now, her works have been translated into a number of languages and have had an influence worldwide, particularly on subjects surrounding the rights of women. She has created a number of different works, such as plays, nonfiction writing, and a memoir. She has been responsible for the editing of a number of significant anthologies, such as Early Ripening: American Women’s Poetry Now, which was published in 1988.
Some of Marge Piercy’s most famous fictional works include; City of Darkness, City of Light, Woman on the Edge of Time, The Moon is Always Female, The Longings of Women, Storm Tide, and Body of Glass, a science fiction novel that won numerous awards. She is also the author of the New York Times bestseller Gone to Soldiers.
Early Life
Marge Piercy was born in Detroit, Michigan, in March of 1936 to parents Bert and Robert Piercy. She grew up in a family which was suffering from the worst of the Great Depression. Her father was often out of work, and they moved from place to place in search of new opportunities. Piercy’s close family members were quite interesting. Her grandfather, a union organizer, was murdered while attempting to rally workers, and her grandmother came from Lithuania. This grandmother was responsible for Piercy’s birth name, “Marah.”
Early Career
When Piercy was young, she was encouraged to explore literature by her mother, who was herself a great reader. In her early years, Piercy found herself engaged with all manner of novels and volumes of poetry. Piercy was sickly as a child, and it was when she was inflicted with rheumatic fever that she began consuming literature and developed a strong love of books and poems. Despite her ailments and her reputation as an indifferent student, she was able to finish high school and win a scholarship that would pay for her tuition at the University of Michigan. This was after winning a number of Hopwood awards.
During the same period, when she was only seventeen years old, after fighting with her family, she left home for university. She was the first member of her family to attend college. At the end of her time in formal schooling, she would end up earning her MA from Northwestern University. During this time, she also spent some time expanding her horizons and gathering life experience in France.
Piercy got married early in life to Michel Schiff and spent time traveling and learning that she did not fit into the typical role of “wife.” The marriage broke up due to her husband’s inability to treat her writing career with anything other than derision. However, it was this relationship that inspired her to write Gone to Soldiers in 1987, a sweeping historical novel that explored World War II. Schiff’s family was of French-Jewish descent and had survived the Holocaust by escaping to Switzerland during the war. It was their story that sparked the idea for the novel.
Her tendency to delve into history didn’t stop there, as she used the French Revolution as the backdrop for her critically acclaimed novel City of Darkness, City of Light, which was published in 1993.
Piercy’s financial situation was poor at this point, and she tried all that she could find a writing style that would allow her to support herself. She worked a number of part-time jobs and became involved in the Civil Rights Movement.
Later Life
Piercy entered into an open marriage in 1962, and she and her husband moved around the country, from Cambridge to San Francisco. During this time period, she was still experimenting with different kinds of writing and was working on her novels Dance the Eagle to Sleep and Going Down Fast. Her first book of poems came in 1968 when she published ‘Breaking Camp.’ She and her husband moved to Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Their relationship ended in the late 1970s. She is now with her current husband, Ira Wood.
Throughout her life, Piercy has written over seventeen volumes of poetry as well as fifteen novels, a collection of essays, and more. Just as she began her wiring career, she finally gained success through her political views and support of feminist causes. She is best known for her novels which are told from a variety of viewpoints, and her poetry which speaks to the empowerment of women. Her work has been described as ‘Tikkun olam,’ or ‘the repair of the world,’ which, in Judaic terms, relates to her dedication to the dream of social change.
Arguably some of her most important poems and collections to date include:
- ‘Barbie Doll‘
- ‘The friend‘
- ‘To be of use‘
- ‘The cat’s song‘
- ‘To have without holding‘
- ‘The Crooked Inheritance‘
- ‘The Hunger Moon: New and Selected Poems‘
- ‘Made in Detroit‘
Influence from Other Poets
Marge Piercy’s main literary inspirations include the poems of William Blake, Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, and William Carlos Williams, as well as feminist writers such as Virginia Woolf, Adrienne Rich, and Tillie Olsen.
FAQs
Marge Piercy is celebrated for her excellently written free verse poetry whilst tackling important social issues, such as her poem ‘The Moon is Always Female,’ which she published in 1980. The poem has long been considered as a feminist classic. Alongside her poetry, Piercy has written seventeen novels, such as the bestselling The Longings of Women and Sex Wars.
Yes, Marge Piercy is an important literary figure in the feminist movement. Much of Marge Piercy’s poetry and novels have explored the themes of women in society, class, culture, relationships, gender roles, and more. Piercy’s novels and volumes of poems are usually written from a feminist point of view.
Marge Piercy was born in Detroit, Michigan, in 1938. The American writer also attended the University of Michigan later on in her education.
Marge Piercy is known for her thought-provoking writing that delves into a number of important topics and themes. Some of the most common of these themes are social justice, women’s rights, civil rights, and more.
Marge Piercy wrote ‘Barbie Doll‘ as a way to explore the expectations of women in society at the time. In 1971, second-wave feminism was growing and looked to tackle issues surrounding sexuality, jobs, and gender roles. The poem shines a light on these topics.
