Responsibility to yourself means refusing to let others do your thinking, talking, and naming for you; it means learning to respect and use your own brains and instincts; hence, grappling with hard work." (Claiming an Education, 1977)

W. H. Norton.

She was called "one of the most widely read and influential poets of the second half of the 20th century" and was credited with bringing "the oppression of women and lesbians to the forefront of poetic discourse. Auden for the Yale Series of Younger Poets Award; he went on to write the introduction to the publiAdrienne Richd volume. "
Her first collection of poetry A Change of World was selected by the senior poet W.