Feminist poetry is a movement recognized as coming to life during the 1960s, a decade when many writers challenged traditional notions of form and content. There is no one moment when the feminist poetry movement began; rather, women wrote about their experiences and entered into a dialogue with society over many years before the 1960s. Feminist poetry was influenced by social change, but also by poets such as Emily Dickinson, who lived decades earlier.
Does feminist poetry mean poems written by feminists, or poetry about feminist subject matter? Must it be both? And who can write feminist poetry -- feminists? Women? Men? The questions are many. Generally, feminist poets have a connection to feminism as a political movement.
During the 1960s, many poets in the United States explored increased social awareness and self-realization. This included feminists, who claimed their place in society, poetry, and political reality. As a movement, feminist poetry is usually thought of as becoming even more successful during the 1970s: feminist poets were prolific, and they began to achieve major critical acclaim, including several Pulitzer Prizes. On the other hand, many poets and critics suggest that feminists and their poetry have often been relegated to second place (to men) in the "poetry establishment."
Prominent feminist poets include Maya Angelou, Maxine Kumin, Denise Levertov, Audre Lorde, Adrienne Rich, and Muriel Rukeyser.