To Be Of Use

Marge Piercy was a central figure in second-wave feminism, which grew out of the civil rights and anti-war movements of the 1960s and 1970s. Both the poetry collection The Moon is Always Female (1980) and her science fiction novel Woman on the Edge of Time (1976) are considered feminist classics. Throughout her career, Piercy has advocated for equal rights for women, and supported their desires to work outside the home and their choices regarding whether to have children.

However, Piercy’s advocacy also extends to the environment, oppressed groups, and concerns regarding labor equity. In an interview with Monica J. Casper, Piercy notes her disapproval of “the suppression and increasing poverty of those who do not own enough to count, the erosion of the middle class and the outspoken hatred of those in power for the poor, the ever-increasing power of multinational corporations” (See: Further Reading & Resources). These concerns have been in Piercy’s consciousness since 1973, as evidenced by the poems in the collection To Be of Use, including the titular poem.

Piercy’s outspoken and blunt address of these topics in many of her poems has disconcerted some, who have accused her work of being too polemic. However, Piercy herself has said she doesn’t see a separation between poetry and politics and feels an obligation to speak out. She notes, “Writers are citizens like plumbers and doctors. We suffer the same consequences from the bad and dangerous choices of politicians who are bought and sold and who have ideas that would not be out of place in the Dark Ages.”