This collection of prose writings by Adrienne Rich, an American poet and feminist theorist, reflects upon themes that have shaped her life and work. Issues explored include the politics of language, the uses of scholarship, racism, history and motherhood.

One of America's foremost poets and feminist theorists collect here some of her most important early prose writings. On Lies, Secrets, and Silence is an extraordinary sort of travel diary, documenting Adrienne Rich's journeys to the frontier and into the interior. It traces the development of one individual consciousness, 'playing over such issues as motherhood, racism, history, poetry, the uses of scholarship, the politics of language.' Rich has written a headnote for each essay, briefly discussing the circumstances of its writing.