Jane Hirshfield's poetry delves into the profound connection between the external world and the inner life. Her verses are marked by a keen observation of detail and an ability to uncover unexpected connections within everyday reality. Through her language, she brings readers closer to the fragility of existence and the power of mindful perception. Her work serves as an invitation to a deeper experience of the present moment.
Jane Hirshfield is a visionary American writer whose poems ask nothing less than what it is to be human. Both sensual meditations and passionate investigations of our shared and borrowed lives, they reveal complex truths in language luminous and precise. The Asking supersedes her earlier retrospective Each Happiness Ringed by Lions (2005).
"Hirshfield's current collection brings together . . . an astonishing array of women writers from the 22nd century BC poet Enheduanna to Nelly Sachs and Anna Akhmatova." — Library Journal "Destined to become a classic. . . . An anthology of women's spirituality on this scale has never been attempted before and I cannot imagine it being better done." — Andrew Harvey
This collection features a fresh assortment of poems from an acclaimed author known for their previous work, October Palace. The new volume showcases the author's distinctive voice and lyrical style, exploring themes of nature, emotion, and the human experience. Each poem invites readers to engage deeply with the imagery and sentiments presented, reflecting the author's continued evolution and mastery of the craft.
"An exquisite accomplishment. These serene and painterly meditations quietly blossom into luminous and sensual lyric reckonings." — David St. John "A radiant and passionate collection." — New York Times Book Review Grounded in a series of mediations upon the life of the feeling heart in the world, Jane Hirshfield's long-awaited third collection of poetry explores the ways that radiance dwells most truly in the ordinary, the difficult, and the plain.
Jane Hirshfield is a visionary American writer with a wide readership. Her urgent new collection is a book of personal, ecological and political reckoning. Her poems inscribe a ledger personal and communal, a registry of our time's and lives' dilemmas as well as a call to action on climate change, social justice and the plight of refugees.