Ballad of Orange and Grape
Muriel Rukeyser wrote “Ballad of Orange and
Grape” toward the end of her long career. The poem
reflects one of the central concerns of her life and
art—the power of language to shape the world’s re-
alities. Rukeyser was a pacifist and promoted many
international social justice issues throughout her
life. She always sought to express her political pas-
sions through her poetry, an attribute that made her
stand out among women poets of her time.
“Ballad of Orange and Grape” takes the form
of a ballad, telling a simple story in verse form.
The speaker, a poet or thinker like the author, goes
to a hot-dog stand in East Harlem at the end of a
day’s work. After passing through a scene of ur-
ban squalor, she arrives at the hot-dog stand and
encounters the vendor refilling two drink ma-
chines—clearly labeled orange and grape respec-
tively—with the wrong flavor of beverage. This
provides the poem’s central metaphor. Questioning
such disregard for language, Rukeyser connects the
vendor’s indifference with the inability of people
in the neighborhood to take action to change their
violent and depressed environment.
The poem was published in Rukeyser’s 1973
collection, Breaking Openand later appeared in sev-
eral collections of her work. It is one of her better
known poems. Critics are divided as to whether
Rukeyser’s writing will stand the test of time. Some
see her poetry as hampered by a naive or propa-
gandistic message, while others, particularly femi-
nists, view her as a renegade whose contributions
to American poetry have yet to be fully appreciated.Muriel Rukeyser
1973
16 Poetry for Students