Nine Gates: Entering the Mind of Poetry
by Jane Hirshfield
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 135)
This is a book that is taking me forever to read, but that is not a criticism. It is a sort of fountain that I continually return to for renewal of creativity, but it is one that like anything potent, needs to be taken in small doses. Hirschfield embues her sense of poetry with her commitment to zen and other eastern religions. I'm lucky enough to have had her autograph my copy, so you know I'mnot giving it up.
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Read in January, 2002
recommends it for:
lovers of distilled spiritualism
This is a series of essays by Jane Hirshfield that act like individual meditations into the many quiet landscapes that poetry inhabits. (I'm trying hard to describe what I'm not sure can be described...but if you try this book, you'll see Hirshfield do a MUCH better job of it.) Very good on a quiet dimly-lit night, with a glass of wine and open mind.
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Read in October, 2007
The only reason I didn't give this book 5 stars is a slight tendency for it to get a bit overly critical, like Hirshfield is trying to hard to sound like a scholar. Those passages were slow going. Other than that, it's a lucid and expansive look at poetry, strongly influenced by a contemplative Buddhist feel. Lovely.
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I particularly liked the section on translation. The information I gained served me well later, when I translated Chekhov plays.
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Read in January, 2005
Hirshfield's book contains nine lectures - one on the art of translation (particularly from Japanese), and another on the need for indirect speech really stand out.
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Truth is I could only handle one of these essays, but it was well written and interesting. More of an assignment, though.
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Nicely crafted collection of essays. I'm about half of the way through it and finding quite a lot to think about.
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I posted an entry about this one on my Reading Diary blog
http://blogdelivre.blogspot.co...
http://blogdelivre.blogspot.co...
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recommended to Adrianna by:
Abby Murray
IN particular, the cahpter on the source of originality.
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book data (includes all editions)
avg rating (all editions): 4.40 (85 ratings) avg rating (this edition): 4.35 (85 ratings) number of reviews: 10
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"One breath taken completely; one poem, fully written, fully read - in such a moment, anything can happen."
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