“The Only Lesbian:” Issues of Identity and the Erotic in Poems by Adrienne Rich and Staceyann Chin

This paper addresses the ways in which Adrienne Rich and Staceyann Chin represent different invocations of lesbian identity through the use of the erotic in their poetry. Rich’s “The Floating Poem, Unnumbered” from “Twenty one love poems” rewrites the history of patriarchal heteronormativiiy in love poems by explicitly alluding to lesbian sexual acts in her descriptions, use of language, and inversion of gender roles. Chin’s “Haiku on being the only lesbian from Jamaica” and “Lesbian Chasing Straight” represent the intersection of race and lesbian identity. She challenges strict categorizations of sexuality through her use of language as well as the personalized form of slam poetry. The comparison of Rich’s militant demand for space in a traditional poetic world and Chin’s articulation of a fluid sexual identity points to an evolving definition of sexuality, leading to a new sexual paradigm