By this she harshly differentiates female and male authors. Except from reinforcing the concept of an extended metaphor, the poem is even already specified in the title: "The Author to Her Book". In other words, This could be seen as a great feminist act considering the author of the poem is a female experiencing the restrictions put upon her in the context of the 17th Century male domineered world. .
I however would analyze this on far more personal level. The poet is writing about herself exclusively and has not consciously intended to refer to male poets. Rather than looking at the poem as a feminist manifesto I find its interest in the relationships depicted in the poem. Not only does Bradstreet write about the author's abstract relationship to her book, she also refers to the relationship between the author, the publisher and the readers. .
However the most important aspect of the poem still stays the equalizing of a book to a child. This is especially interesting as there seem to be fundamental differences. These are most importantly found on a religious basis which is not surprising considering the poem dates from the period of the 17th Century which was marked very religiously. According to religion a child has been created by G"d (or on a more neutral basis by nature). The book has obviously been created by men. Bradstreet however does not make this distinction, to the contrary, she puts them on the same level. Seen linearly this could again be seen as a manifesto, rebelling against her time. Rather that seeing "The Author To Her Book" as an anti-religious manifesto I tend to rather see it as depicting a circular process in which G"d (i.e. nature) creates men (i.e. the artist) and that the artist describes nature (in his work). To my mind this shows why this symbiotic relationship is so complex and interesting. The author cannot really enjoy his poem as she depends so much on it. One could talk about a kind of love/ hate relationship.
