Robin Morgan, a poet, essayist, editor, and influential second-wave feminist, died Saturday in New York. She was 85.
Her son, Blake Morgan, stated that her death followed a series of recent health problems. Morgan's passing occurred just days after that of her close friend and fellow activist Gloria Steinem.
During the 1960s and 1970s, Morgan was a central figure in the burgeoning feminist movement. She was among the organizers of the 1968 protest against the Miss America pageant, where activists famously tossed bras into a "Freedom Trash Can." The 1970 anthology she edited, "Sisterhood is Powerful," is widely recognized as a seminal text of the modern women's movement.
Morgan considered herself primarily a poet and artist, with her creative work informing her activism. Her son noted her ability to distill complex ideas into concise statements, quoting her line, "hate generalizes, love specifies."
She is credited with coining the term "herstory" and popularizing the clenched fist/female symbol icon associated with the women's liberation movement. Her poem "Monster" appeared at feminist rallies, and her poem "Arraignment" addressed the death of Sylvia Plath and cast blame on her husband, Ted Hughes.
Morgan's activism extended to direct action. In 1970, she and fellow protesters were arrested after occupying the offices of Grove Press. In her 1970 essay "Goodbye to All That," she critiqued figures from Hugh Hefner to Abbie Hoffman.
Throughout her life, Morgan challenged conventional labels. She was married for over 20 years to poet Kenneth Pitchford, with whom she had a son. She described her marriage as a "two member commune" and resisted categorization regarding her relationships.
Morgan authored more than 20 books, including "The Word of a Woman: Feminists Dispatches," and poetry collections like "Monster" and "Dark Matter." She also edited "Sisterhood is Global" (1984) and "Sisterhood is Forever" (2002), which featured contributions from figures such as Gloria Steinem and Simone de Beauvoir. For a period, she served as editor-in-chief of Ms. Magazine.
Steinem described Morgan as an ideal "utility player" for protest movements. Morgan co-founded early feminist groups like New York Radical Women and Women's International Terrorist Conspiracy from Hell (W.I.T.C.H.). She was briefly involved with the Youth International Party (Yippies) but departed due to the group's treatment of women.
In 1984, she was a founder of the Sisterhood Is Global Institute, a feminist think tank. In 2005, she, Steinem, and Jane Fonda established the Women's Media Center, dedicated to increasing the visibility and influence of women and girls in media.
Despite a Parkinson's disease diagnosis 16 years prior, Morgan remained active, hosting a syndicated radio show and sharing her experiences in a 2015 TEDWomen talk.
Born in 1941 in Lake Worth, Florida, Morgan began her career as a child star. She appeared on radio shows, including her own "Little Robin Morgan," and was a regular on the television series "Mama" from 1949 to 1957. Magazine profiles from her childhood often depicted her as "unspoiled" and "courteous."
However, her public image contrasted with her inner life. Her first serious childhood poem began, "Go, rage, winter the world with despair." As a child performer, she recalled an incident where she was physically restrained after speaking out against corporal punishment on a broadcast, an event she later described as her first political act.
In her late teens, Morgan pursued higher education at Columbia University, engaged in poetry workshops, and became politically active. She participated in civil rights marches and protests against the Vietnam War. She met poets such as W.H. Auden and Anthony Hecht, who offered her critical advice about women in poetry.
In 1962, she met Kenneth Pitchford, and their meeting marked the beginning of a significant relationship. Morgan reflected on her life in her 2001 memoir, "Saturday’s Child," expressing a sense of humor about her experiences.