I don't think poetry will die, but I think that poetry does demand a certain kind of attention to language. Edward Hirsch More Quotes by Edward Hirsch More Quotes From Edward Hirsch Reading poetry is an adventure in renewal, a creative act, a perpetual beginning, a rebirth of wonder. Edward Hirsch creativereadingadventure Poetry connects us to what is deepest in ourselves. It gives us access to our own feelings, which are often shadowy, and engages us in the art of making meaning. It widens the space of our inner lives. It is a magical, mysterious, inexplicable (though not incomprehensible) event in language. Edward Hirsch spacegivingart There has never been a great poet who wasn't also a great reader of poetry. Edward Hirsch great-poetpoetreader 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. Edward Hirsch shelvespoettrying Poetry never loses its appeal. Sometimes its audience wanes and sometimes it swells like a wave. But the essential mystery of being human is always going to engage and compel us. We're involved in a mystery. Poetry uses words to put us in touch with that mystery. We're always going to need it. Edward Hirsch essentialspoetryneeds Language is an impure medium. Speech is public property and words are the soiled products, not of nature, but of society, which circulates and uses them for a thousand different ends. Edward Hirsch speechdifferentuse And every year there is a brief, startling moment Edward Hirsch autumnhomefall You can seek clarity, you can seek warmth, you can try to make something for lasting. You can pack something in salt so that it's well made and you can hope that it outlasts time. But, ultimately that's not up to you. Edward Hirsch saltup-to-youtrying In Náhuatl, the language of the Aztec world, one key word for poet was 'tlamatine,' meaning 'the one who knows,' or 'he who knows something.' Poets were considered 'sages of the word,' who meditated on human enigmas and explored the beyond, the realm of the gods. Edward Hirsch aztecsagekeys I put down these memorandums of my affections in honor of tenderness, in honor of all of those who have been conscripted into the brotherhood of loss. Edward Hirsch brotherhoodhealingloss The spiritual desire for poetry can be overwhelming, so much do I need it to experience and name my own perilous depths and vast spaces, my own well-being. Edward Hirsch spacespiritualnames I was surprised recently to find a book called "Poetry in Persons" that's coming out about visit to poets to a class that Pearl London gave. Edward Hirsch pearlsclassbook Books and newspapers assume a "common reader" that is, a person who knows the things known by other literate persons in the culture. Obviously, such assumptions are never identical from writer to writer, but they show a remarkable consistency Edward Hirsch consistencybookknowledge One of the deep fundamentals of poetry is the recurrence of sounds, syllables, words, phrases, lines, and stanzas. Repetition can be one of the most intoxicating features of poetry. It creates expectations, which can be fulfilled or frustrated. It can create a sense of boredom and complacency, but it can also incite enchantment and inspire bliss. Edward Hirsch boredomexpectationsinspire A poem is a hand, a hook, a prayer. It is a soul in action. Edward Hirsch soulprayerhands I have the idea that lyric poetry is a poetry that's driven by a sense of the presence of death. That there's something unbearable about the fact that we're going to die and that we can't stand it and I think you find that out in childhood and you don't really - at least I found it out in childhood and I found it hard to get over. Edward Hirsch lyric-poetryideasthinking The poet wants justice. And the poet wants art. In poetry we can't have one without the other. Edward Hirsch wantjusticeart We will be able to achieve a just and prosperous society only when our schools ensure that everyone commands enough shared background knowledge to be able to communicate effectively with everyone else. Edward Hirsch ablesocietyschool Civil religion gives American culture its direction and defines its fundamental values, but it does not determine the diversified contents of American national culture. Edward Hirsch doegivingreligion But, something has to be worked through formally as well as emotionally. Now, when those two things come together I've got something, I think, that I can be proud of. Edward Hirsch togethertwothinking
