In the book "Of Woman Born," first published in 1976, influential poet and feminist Adrienne Rich examines the patriarchal systems and political institutions that define motherhood. Exploring her personal experience as a woman, poet, feminist, and mother, she finds that the act of motherhood is defined by and is different from the institution of motherhood imposed on all women everywhere. A "powerful combination of research, theory, and self-analysis" (Sandra M. Gilbert, Paris Review), "Of Woman Born" revolutionized the way women think about motherhood and their personal liberation. With a moving new foreword by award-winning author Eula Biss, the book embodies as much wisdom and insight today as when it was first written.