It emphasizes their strength and the unity that exists between them, and using PlatoвЂ™s phrase harkens back to the powerful army made up of queer people in ancient history.Д«urns, Carole. Describing the queer people of the 1970s as вЂњan armyвЂќ is immensely powerful, especially after following the descriptions of their pain and suffering that make up the body of the poem. The вЂњarmy of loversвЂќ imagery could very well have its roots in PlatoвЂ™s writing, specifically his Symposium,В where the character Phaedrus employs that exact phrase to refer to the Sacred Band of Thebes, a group made up of pairs of male lovers that fought as part of the Theban army. The poemвЂ™s final line, вЂњAn army of lovers shall not fail,вЂќ was adopted by gay and lesbian activists throughout the 70s and beyond-and even featured on the cover of the periodical The Lesbian Tide (Faderman 232). вЂњYou who have wept in direct sunlight / Who have hungered in invisible chainsвЂќ could speak to BrownвЂ™s own fight and the isolation she felt due to her sexuality. She also served as a founding member of The Furies Collective, a lesbian commune that treated heterosexuality as a barrier to revolution (Burns).Д«rownвЂ™s struggles as a lesbian woman within the feminist movement give a deeper meaning to her interpretation of Sappho. After leaving the Redstockings, she was a prominent figure in the Lavender Menace, a group of lesbian radical feminists that formed in 1970 in response to the exclusion of lesbians from many feminist issues. Yet Brown had a fulfilling career fighting for lesbian rights through poetry and politics.

вЂњYeah, I donвЂ™t recommend it,вЂќ she reflected in a 2015 Washington Post article (Burns). Speaking on her time with these organizations, Brown stated that she вЂњfelt like the only lesbianвЂќ in America at times in the 1970s. Similarly, she left her position with the National Organization for Women after its attempts to distance itself from and ignore lesbian feminist groups. She was a leader of the Redstockings, a consciousness-raising radical feminist group, yet eventually left the group due to the lack of support of lesbian issues. By using this title to refute the maternal cliche (вЂњthe hand that rocks the cradleвЂќ) and turn it into an image of power and resilience, Brown sets the tone for her entire collection.Д«rown was an integral figure to the Feminist Poetry Movement of the вЂ70s, serving as a contributor and editor for several prominent periodicals and journals including Sinister Wisdom, Lesbian Connection, Amazon Quarterly, and The Furies. вЂњSapphoвЂ™s ReplyвЂќ was first published in BrownвЂ™s 1971 poetry collection The Hand That Cradles the Rock. She, as Sappho, has witnessed and understood their suffering, and yet consoles them that вЂњan army of lovers shall not fail.вЂќ

Speaking to them вЂњthrough thousands of years,вЂќ she offers words of encouragement and survival. In this poem, Rita Mae Brown embodies her imagined perception of Sappho, addressing lesbians of her time.

Rita mae brown