The Lives of the Heart: Poems

A new volume of poems by the award-winning author of October Palace.

Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky writes that Jane Hirshfield "approaches the poem in a way that feels exactly right to me: plainly, reverently, intelligently." This is true both in her essays about poetry (see Nine Gates) and in her poems. Her recurrent themes of art, nature, and mystery startle the reader in many of these poems. Take, for example, the intriguingly titled "Lying," which is short enough to quote in its entirety: "He puts his brush to the canvas, / with one quick stroke / unfolds a bird from the sky. / Steps back, considers. / Takes pity. / Unfolds another."