The Irish poet, Eavan Boland, has referred to Rich’s Diving into the Wreck (1971-1972), as ‘a cornerstone volume’ in her own development, and indeed both poets have been described as having ‘similar trajectories’ in terms of poetic growth: they both shared an early facility with form and a feminist perspective that questioned the perceived ‘normal’ patriarchal influences of their day, as well as an ambition to push the boundaries of ‘self-scrutiny’.