"There is no simple formula for the relationship of art to justice. But I do know that art means nothing if it simply decorates the dinner table of power which holds it hostage. The radical disparities of wealth and power in America are widening at a devastating rate. A President cannot meaningfully honor certain token artists while the people at large are so dishonored. I know you have been engaged in a serious and disheartening struggle to save government funding for the arts, against those whose fear and suspicion of art is nakedly repressive. In the end, I don’t think we can separate art from overall human dignity and hope. My concern for my country is inextricable from my concerns as an artist. I could not participate in a ritual which would feel so hypocritical to me."
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Educators from the United StatesAnti-war activistsWomen authors from the United States20th-century poets from the United StatesFeminists from the United States
Original Language: English
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from her letter to the chair of the National Endowment for the Arts, Jane Alexander (July 3 1997)
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Adrienne_Rich
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Adrienne Rich
Adrienne Rich (16 May 1929 - 27 March 2012) was an American feminist, poet, teacher, and writer.
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