16 pages • 32 minutes read
Marge PiercyThe Secretary Chant
Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1973A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Further Reading & Resources
Related Poems
"The Birthday of the World" by Marge Piercy (2006)
“The Birthday of the World” is a more recent Piercy poem published in 2006. This poem exhibits the more autobiographical style in which she said she writes many of her poems. Whereas “The Secretary Chant” is largely abstracted through the use of extensive metaphor, “The Birthday of the World” is more straightforward and intimate in nature.
"Colors Passing Through Us" by Marge Piercy (1999)
“Colors Passing Through Us” is a departure from “The Secretary Chant”; however, it is another example of Piercy’s use of refrain to produce rhythm and atmosphere in a poem. This poem shows another side to Piercy, presenting a focus on nature rather than the manmade environment so deeply explored in “The Secretary Chant.”
"First Turn to Me..." by Bernadette Mayer (1968)
A feminist poem written by second-generation New York School poet, Bernadette Mayer, “First Turn to Me” explores issues of female sexuality in relation to the ways in which patriarchal structures have historically repressed and ignored sexual expression in women.
Further Literary Resources
"The Writer’s Almanac Bookshelf" by Joy Biles
This is an interview with Marge Piercy in Q&A format that appears on Garrison Keillor’s The Writer’s Almanac Bookshelf website, compiling highlights from interviews of the many poets and writers featured on Keillor’s show.
"How We Live…" by Muriel Rukeyser (1973)
Written by one of Marge Piercy’s proclaimed writing influences, “How we live…” by Muriel Rukeyser provides a sampling of work that helps to highlight a kinship between the work of the two poets.
"Contemporary Woman Poets" with Audre Lorde and Marge Piercy (1976)
From the AfroMarxist YouTube channel, this 1976 video clip of Audre Lorde and Marge Piercy features a conversation about their respective poetry practices and thoughts on the poetic form, as well as readings by both poets who are each well known for their feminist work.
He, She and It: A Novel by Marge Piercy (1991)
One of Piercy’s many novels, the science fiction work He, She and It: A Novel won a renowned Arthur C. Clarke Award for Best Science Fiction in the U.K. in 1992.
Listen to Poem
Professor Rebecca Balcárcel reads and provides a brief analysis of Piercy’s poem “The Secretary Chant” as part of the Six Minute Scholar channel on YouTube.
Related Titles
By Marge Piercy
