Hong earned her master of fine arts in creative writing at the University of Texas Michener Center for Writers and is a writer-in-residence at Richard Hugo House. In the following essay, Hong discusses Boland's use of alliteration, assonance, and rhyme to reinforce her ideas about the role of women in history.

Boland's poem "It's a Woman's World" argues for the greater inclusion of women in public life outside of the domestic sphere and for the recognition of women's contributions to history and art. From the poem's ironic title onward, the poem focuses on how women have been consigned to household duties, which have kept them from participating in activities that are more widely recognized, such as political activism. As a feminist, Boland argues that this exclusion of women from the larger culture needs to change, and she expresses her outrage over the situation, using rhyme and other...