'A word appears . . . then another'

 

“My job as a human being as well as a writer is to feel as thoroughly as possible the experience that I am part of, and then press it a little further.” – Jane Hirshfield

 

Born in New York City in 1953, poet, essayist, and translator Hirshfield was a member of the first class of women to graduate from Princeton University in 1973.  

 

Her 14 books of poetry – often referred to as “sensuous, insightful and clear” – have received numerous awards, led by Given Sugar, Given Salt, named as a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, and After, shortlisted for the United Kingdom’s prestigious T.S. Eliot Prize.  Her most recent book is 2023’s The Asking:  New and Selected Poems.  

 

”When I write, I don't know what is going to emerge,” she said.  “I begin in a condition of complete unknowing, an utter nakedness of concept or goal. A word appears, another word appears, an image. It is a moving into mystery.”