This panel welcomes proposals about the lives and works of post-modern and contemporary American women poets (1950’s to present), potentially expanding on how the medium of poetry aids in establishing a voice for women who have historically been silenced and marginalized. Panelists might explore how post-modern and contemporary American women poets were and are in conversation with other poets who wrote before them and how these new feminist voices (particularly from the Women’s Movement), still echoed in poets writing today, changed the landscape of American poetry. As Adrienne Rich said, “We need to know the writing of the past and know it differently than we have ever known it, not to pass on a tradition but to break its hold over us.” Submissions might also include thoughts on the construction of female identity, sexism, and societal inequities. Papers should focus on one particular poet and the historical context within which she was (or is) writing. Please submit a 250-word abstract and a brief bio by July 25th to didi.jackson@vanderbilt.edu.