Meeting Ms. Hirshfield

This past Thursday, May 29, I got to meet Jane Hirshfield as a requirement for my Poetry of the Sacred class, and also for my creative writing workshop. Hirshfield wrote a lot of the books which we are using in class currently, and also served as translator for many poems we read in Poetry of the Sacred. I honestly did not expect her to be so approachable; judging by the photos on her book covers, she seemed to be friendly yet aloof. When I stopped to talk to her following the morning meeting, she was very down to earth and honest. I was very curious to know if she had any doubts regarding the quality of her poetry, and if she was ever surprised by the reaction of the public to her poems.There were many occasions where I thought my poetry wasn't as good as they could have been, yet people who read them always praise me on how good they are. It reassured me to know that someone who is as well known as she is still has insecurities regarding the quality of her poems, and has been plagued by writer's block many times. I also enjoyed seeing her read her poems to the audience that night, and it made me realize how much I enjoyed spoken poetry as well as written poetry. When a member of the audience asked her, what advice do you give young people who are writers, Hirshfield said something that stayed with me long after the evening ended, "Always leave your window open a little more than you're comfortable with."