Adrienne Rich, Forward to Arts of the Possible (2000)
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Sisyphus is not, finally, a useful image. You don't roll some unitary boulder of language or justice uphill; you try with others to assist in cutting and laying many stones, designing a foundation. One of the stonecutter-architects I met was Muriel Rukeyser, whose work I had begun reading in depth in the 1980s. Through her prose Rukeyser had engaged me intellectually; her poetry, however, in its range and daring, held me first and last. "Her Vision" is a tribute to the mentorship of her work.

— Adrienne Rich on Muriel Rukeyser

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Sisyphus is not, finally, a useful image. You don't roll some unitary boulder of language or justice uphill; you try with others to assist in cutting and laying many stones, designing a foundation. One of the stonecutter-architects I met was Muriel Rukeyser, whose work I had begun reading in depth in the 1980s. Through her prose Rukeyser had engaged me intellectually; her poetry, however, in its range and daring, held me first and last. "Her Vision" is a tribute to the mentorship of her work." in the context of "Adrienne Rich, Forward to Arts of the Possible (2000)" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

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Source: Wikiquote: "Muriel Rukeyser" (Quotes about Rukeyser) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Adrienne Rich

About Adrienne Rich

Adrienne Rich (16 May 1929 - 27 March 2012) was an American feminist, poet, teacher, and writer.