“And when my second book had come out, "Wild Gratitude," I went to Pearl London's class and she worked through different drafts of poems and there were the drafts of my poem, "Wild Gratitude," and I saw that I had begun the poem with the title "August 13th."” BookDifferentClassSawsGratitudeLondonTitlesPearlsAugust Author:Edward Hirsch
“And it was the title August 13th for most of the way and then near the end, sometime in the process, I got the idea that maybe that would be a somewhat bland title and I got the idea for wild gratitude, which I'm very proud of as a title. So, I think it works best when you find it in the process.” ThinkingWayIdeasEndsWould BeProcessProudGratitudeTitlesAugustBland Author:Edward Hirsch
“I would say there are different kinds of poems. There are things that poets in the history of poetry hit upon when they're very young that can never be outdone and it's a remarkable, strange experience when you think of say Arthur Rimbaud who write poetry between the ages of 17 and 21 whose career was over by the time he was 22.” ThinkingWritingKindDifferentAgeYoungCareersStrangePoetRemarkablePoetry IsDifferent KindsArthur Author:Edward Hirsch
“Scholars of the Hebrew bible define something they call wisdom literature and I would say clearly the poetry of wisdom is something that comes with age or that might come with age which has to do with reflecting on experience.” MightAgeLiteratureScholarReflectingHebrewHebrew Bible Author:Edward Hirsch
“A certain kind of poetry looks back at experience from an older perspective.” LooksKindCertainPerspective Author:Edward Hirsch
“It's hard to think that say Shakespeare could have written "The Tempest" when he was young. It seems to be reflective work or retrospective work.” ThinkingHardSeemsYoungWrittenTempestRetrospective Author:Edward Hirsch
“There's the brilliant audacity of youth that poets strike upon in their earliest work sometimes that they never can hit upon again.” SometimesYouthPoetStrikesBrilliantAudacity Author:Edward Hirsch
“And sometimes you look at the first poems by someone and you go, "They have freshness and a sense of wonder that is never recaptured again by that poet."” FirstsLooksSometimesWonderPoetFreshnessSense Of Wonder Author:Edward Hirsch
“I think there are different kinds of poetry for different stages of life and there's the wild, exuberance of youth, there's the painful agony of midlife experience, there's the late poetry in the presence of death.” ThinkingKindDifferentStageYouthLatePainfulDifferent KindsLife ExperienceAgonyExuberanceMidlifeStages Of Life Author:Edward Hirsch
“think what you hope for is that at different times of your life you're able to write the poetry that reflects the moment that you're in on your own journey.” ThinkingWritingDifferentMomentsAbleJourneyDifferent TimesTime Of Your Life Author:Edward Hirsch
“I was once doing a question and answer period with the novelist Jane Smiley in a bookstore and someone asked us what our processes were and Jane said hers and then I said mine and Jane said, "Well, if I had a student like that I'd force him never to write like that again because you could never write a novel in the way that you write poetry."” IfsWayWritingWellsSaidForceProcessAnswersNovelStudentsMinesPeriodsNovelistsJaneBookstoresQuestions And AnswersSmiley Author:Edward Hirsch
“I wish I wrote drafts and then revised them, but I don't. What I do is I seem to revise as I go.” SeemsWish Author:Edward Hirsch
“I write a line and then I revise the line and then I write two lines and then I revise lines one and two and then I write one, two and three and I revise one and two and then I write seven and eight and then I see that should be line four and I continually work it over as I go.” ShouldWritingTwoThreeLinesFourSevenEightWorking It Author:Edward Hirsch
“So, it's a continual process of trial and error and then I find things and I throw it out and start again, but I keep writing it over again.” WritingProcessErrorsTrialsTrial And Error Author:Edward Hirsch
“So, the result though is by the time I've got something, it's been worked over so many times that although I do make changes as the end, often by the time I've gotten it, it's pretty much completed.” EndsResultsMaking Changes Author:Edward Hirsch
“Now, as I've gotten older I've been able to write more quickly. Sometimes I get in the space of something and I can do a lot in a day.” WritingI CanSometimesAbleCan DoSpace Author:Edward Hirsch
“The mysterious thing about writing poetry is that when you're - when things are going poorly, when you're not thinking well, even making two sentences together is extremely hard and I just can't make the connections.” ThinkingWritingWellsTwoHardTogetherConnectionsSentencesMysteriousPoetry IsWriting PoetryMysterious Things Author:Edward Hirsch
“And when I'm writing well and when I'm inside the feeling, then I can do fairly complicated things with some fluency.” WritingWellsI CanFeelingsCan DoComplicatedWriting WellComplicated ThingsFluency Author:Edward Hirsch
“So, some of the most difficult formal poems that I've written, say one sentence sonnets, I've been able to do those fairly quickly whereas some of the clearest, simplest lyrics that I've written have taken me the longest to get to the clarity of feeling that you're looking for.” FeelingsAbleDifficultTakenWrittenSentencesClarityFormalSimplestSonnetOne Sentence Author:Edward Hirsch
“So, the process of revision, it's not systematic. But for me, I mean, I know a lot of poets who write out a draft and then revise it and I think they're happier people. But, I'm just not able to do it that way. I need to just continually examine it as I do it.” PeopleThinkingKnowsWayNeedsWritingMeanAbleProcessPoetSystematicRevision Author:Edward Hirsch
“The attention deficit disorder of the culture is very distressing in America now and I think it puts a lot of things at risk, not just poetry.” ThinkingAmericaCultureAttentionRiskDisorderDeficitDistressingAttention Deficit Disorder Author:Edward Hirsch
“There's never been a culture without poetry in the history of the world. In every culture, in every language there is expressive play, expressive word play, there's language use to different purposes that we would call poetry.” WorldDifferentPlayUsePurposeCultureLanguageWorld HistoryExpressive Author:Edward Hirsch
“I think poetry will survive and I don't think it will be the end of poetry. Our tremendous onslaught of mass media all the time that we're suffering and we don't really know how to think about, I think that puts certain things at risk.” ThinkingKnowsEndsCertainSufferingKnow HowRiskMediaMassMass Media Author:Edward Hirsch
“I don't think poetry will die, but I think that poetry does demand a certain kind of attention to language.” ThinkingKindDoeCertainDiesLanguageAttentionDemand Author:Edward Hirsch
“It does demand a certain space in order to read it and I think that space is somewhat threatened by the lack of attention that people have and the amount of time that they give to things.” PeopleThinkingGivingDoeCertainOrderSpaceAttentionAmountDemandThreatened Author:Edward Hirsch
“I just think that limits the kinds of experiences that people can have with poetry. But, poetry will survive; I don't worry about that. But, I do think that it may save fewer souls if people can't pay attention.” PeopleIfsThinkingKindMaySoulPayAttentionWorryLimitsPay AttentionFewer Author:Edward Hirsch
“I think that the dark side of MFA programs is that they're generating more poets than the culture can absorb and there are more people writing poetry than possibly read it or can certainly earn a living around it.” PeopleThinkingWritingCultureSidesDarkPoetProgramDark SideWriting Poetry Author:Edward Hirsch
“A stress on the system and I think a painful thing for many young poets who are looking to find a life in poetry that they're not going to be able to find.” ThinkingAbleYoungPoetStressPainfulPainful Things Author:Edward Hirsch
“The very good thing about MFA programs is their democratizing. They bring a lot of different people to the table.” PeopleDifferentProgramTablesGood ThingsVery GoodDifferent Peoples Author:Edward Hirsch
“I mean, in the history of poetry there have been a lot poetries where you have to inherit the position of poet from your ancestors and I think that if you just leave anyone to become a poet based on an aristocratic society, then a lot of people are left out who might have something to offer.” PeopleIfsThinkingMeanHas BeensMightLeftPositionPoetOffersAncestorLeft OutAristocratic Author:Edward Hirsch
“I would be happier if people who went through MFA programs also were already, by then, deeply committed readers of poetry because we need readers of poetry as much as writers of poetry.” PeopleIfsNeedsWould BeReaderProgramCommittedPoetry Is Author:Edward Hirsch
“I think in terms of educating a group of readers, MFA programs are very good. I just think the model of MFA programs in which a young poet goes through the program, publishes a series of books, gets teaching jobs, that's a bit at risk.” ThinkingBookJobsYoungBitsTermRiskGroupsTeachingPoetReaderModelsProgramSeriesVery GoodPublish Author:Edward Hirsch
“I think the culture can absorb so many people writing poetry and trying to earn their living in poetry.” PeopleThinkingWritingTryingCultureWriting Poetry Author:Edward Hirsch
“First of all I think that poetry is very noble and I always have with me the sense of the nobility of poetry.” ThinkingFirstsNoblePoetry IsNobility Author:Edward Hirsch
“And when you are entering into poetry, whatever stage you're at, you are participating in something with a very long and noble tradition.” LongStageTraditionNobleEnteringParticipating Author:Edward Hirsch
“I would keep in mind to a young poet that you are entering into something that is very important, that has always been important in terms of human concerns.” MindHumansImportantYoungTermPoetConcernEntering Author:Edward Hirsch
“The way to become a poet is to read poetry and to imitate what you read and to read passionately and widely and in as involved a way as you can.” WayPoetInvolved Author:Edward Hirsch
“It's not important - it's not necessary that you read everything. What is necessary is that you care about things that you read and that you find something that really matters to you and you try and make something like that.” TryingImportantMatterCare Author:Edward Hirsch
“I think that as long as you have other poets before you and that you can learn from them, then it's always open ended for you.” ThinkingLongPoet Author:Edward Hirsch
“There's always some place to go. You don't need workshops, you don't need friends necessarily, you can be befriended by literature itself.” NeedsLiteratureWorkshopsPlaces To GoFriend In Need Author:Edward Hirsch
“Emily Dickinson calls previous poets her kinsmen of the shelf. You can always be consoled by your kinsmen of the shelf and you can participate in poetry by going to them and by trying to make something worthy of them.” TryingPoetWorthyShelvesEmily Author:Edward Hirsch
“Gertrude Stein said, "I write for myself and strangers." I would say I write for myself, strangers and the great dead.” WritingSaidStrangerGertrude Author:Edward Hirsch
“I don't think you can read poetry while you're watching television very well.” ThinkingWellsTelevisionWatching Television Author:Edward Hirsch
“The idea of how to read a poem is based on the idea that poetry needs you as a reader. That the experience of poetry, the meaning in poetry is a kind of circuit that takes place between a poet, a poem and a reader and that meaning doesn't exist or in here in poems alone.” NeedsKindIdeasPoetReaderPoetry IsNeed YouCircuits Author:Edward Hirsch
“Readers bring their own experiences, their own range of - their own wisdom, their own knowledge, their own insights to poem and the meaning of a poem takes place in the negotiation between the poet, the poem and the reader.” PoetReaderInsightRangeNegotiation Author:Edward Hirsch
“As a reader you have a task to do, you have something to do. You bring your experience to it. It's not all inherit in the poem.” ReaderTasks Author:Edward Hirsch
“The great post-Holocaust poet, Paul Celan, said that a poem is a message in a bottle sent out in the not always greatly hopeful belief that somewhere and some time it would wash up on land on heartland perhaps.” SaidBeliefLandPoetMessagesPostsHopefulBottlesHolocaustMessage In A Bottle Author:Edward Hirsch
“The idea of a poem as a message in a bottle means that it's sent out towards some future reader and the reader who opens that bottle becomes the addressee of the literary text.” MeanIdeasReaderMessagesBottlesMessage In A Bottle Author:Edward Hirsch
“And Mandelstam says a poet - you go down to the shore and you see an unlikely looking from a bottle from the past, you open it. Mandelstam says, "It's okay to do so. I'm not reading someone else's mail. It was addressed to whoever found it. I found it, therefore it's addressed to me."” PastReadingFoundPoetOkayBottlesShoreMailUnlikely Author:Edward Hirsch
“When you find it you become the secret addressee of a literary text and I felt that their reader had been left out of this experience of reading poetry or what the experience of poetry was.” ReadingLeftFeltSecretReaderLeft OutReading Poetry Author:Edward Hirsch
