Wild Gratitude [Paperback]

Edward Hirsch (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In Wild Gratitude, Edward Hirsch unfurls a kaleidoscope of inventive poems that honor other artists and writers, confront urban life and embrace East European fugitives, as well as eulogizing his grandparents and recollecting his youth. At their very best the poems in this collection, which won a National Book Critics Circle Award, somehow merge these subjects, as is the case in "Three Journeys," which draws parallels between a bag lady's troubles and those of an artist. In all, the book offers readers a sweeping accumulation of work by a talented poet deserving of greater attention. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Like a virtuoso pianist who makes a difficult piece sound easy to play, Hirsch writes poems that flow with a captivating directness and ease. Using a simple vocabulary, a sometimes intimate, conversational tone, he creates succinct and powerful pieces in which an honest voice speaks without affectation. It is a voice of affirmation, expressing "wild gratitude" for life with all its beauty, complexity and terror. Writing of a friend dying of cancer at 37, Hirsch finds an objective correlative in a windy October night, full of falling leaves and rain, which transports the reader from the particular to the universal. In "Commuters," he writes about a man who stands outside himself watching himself get off a commuter train and into his car. Repetition and precise description of the man's movements capture perfectly his sense of dislocation and alienation. This volume of 32 poems, part of the Knopf Poetry Series, is an admirable successor to Hirsch's first, highly praised book, For the Sleepwalkers. January 23
Copyright 1985 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Knopf (March 18, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375710124
• ISBN-13: 978-0375710124
• Product Dimensions: 5.9 x 0.3 x 8.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,732,806 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning American poetry., August 30, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Wild Gratitude (The Knopf poetry series) (Paperback)

I've had this volume for many years now. Hirsch's poem "Edward Hopper and the House by the Railroad" is perhaps one of the best American language poems ever written. I consider almost all of Hirsch's work to be outstanding, but I hope never to be without a copy of this volume.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Extraordinary, direct poetry, April 17, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Wild Gratitude (Paperback)

I saw Edward Hirsch read from his work earlier this week and the reading confirmed what I have thought for some time--he is one of the best poets now working. Direct, passionate, delightful and in love with life despite its difficulties and disappointments, this reissue (along with his new book, Lay Back the Darkness and his older collection, For The Sleepwalkers) is a book no lover of serious, skilled poetry should be without.