Jane Hirshfield believes that poetry can play a transformative role in our lives. “What poems are doing is counterbalancing the mainstream tenor of our culture, which is to do, to be active, to be energetic and to prove one’s self… and one of the messages underlying all poems that move us is that we have nothing at all to prove.” She offers her perspective on beauty and how it cannot exist alone. She takes us behind the scenes into the mind of the poet, and treats us to some of her own poems and her thinking behind them. She also reminds us that a reader can benefit from a poem without knowing what the poet is thinking, but by thinking for him- or herself. Poetry encourages us to ask questions, open up to the unknown, and see our vulnerabilities. Her own process includes the constant practice of questioning, searching, and listening. Poems can present life to us through a different lens, she says. “One of the things that poetry helps us with is to remain open to what is not sure, what is not guaranteed, what makes us feel vulnerable.”
Jane Hirshfield points out that many people turn to poetry in times of great life transitions. She says, “You know when people fall in love, or when they lose love, or lose someone they loved, that is when they want a poem. When they get married, they want a poem. These great transitions are larger than the normal, ordinary consciousness. And what poems do is give us a vocabulary for understanding things, which isn’t available through any other use of language.” Her poetry alludes to far ranging subjects such as time, nature, and even science. Here she reads some of her poems and talks of the inspiration from which they come and why they speak to us and move us beyond our rational minds and our busy intellect through metaphors and images. She shares with us why poetry, and other art forms like music, speak so deeply to the heart and soul. (hosted by Justine Willis Toms)
Widely considered one of America's preeminent writers and poets of her generation, Hirshfield has continued to search out new ways to increase poetry's capacities for understanding. This dialogue explores the world of poetry, with its depth of thought and richness of observation. An evocative mix of control and wildness shines through this dynamic conversation.
Poetry offers depth and color to life and is a natural way to express what it means to be human. Hirshfield offers gentle wisdom about writing and appreciating poetry. She says, 'The poem is the speech of the inner heart, the inner mind. If you can simply hear what it's saying as if it were being whispered to you in the dark, you will understand good poems.'
