Front Lines: Selected Poems

by Jack Hirschman

In the activist verse of this poetic warrior, always committed, the actual world is never out of mind, even in his most intimate poems. Kabbalist, populist, and communist, Hirschman has published over sixty books of his own poetry, and this representative selection is a cross-section of his poetic output, spanning many years and mutations. When he reads aloud, the words take fire, and on the page they crackle and spark. "Hirschman is tender but tough, with a steel fist in his velvet glove."— San Francisco Chronicle "What this poet brings to us, beyond ideology, is the simple truth that we already know and so immediately we have to stop hating each other, killing each other, raping each other, and start loving each other."— Poet News ". . . one of the left’s most prolific and consistent poetic voices."— Contemporary Poets "For a poet as prolific as Jack Hirschman, the 224 pages of his new City Lights book Front Lines—a selected poems covering a half-century of work from 1952 to 2001—gives us only a fraction of his gargantuan output over that long, productive arc. (With over one hundred books of original work and translations at last count.) With a deft touch, he has lifted many of the best poems from these years, giving us a consolidated, if not a “best of” Hirschman reader, in which the turning of each page causes something of a small epiphany, if not outright cause for celebration."— Asheville Poetry Review "The publication of Front Lines . . . serves as an appropriate celebration of Jack Hirschman's 70th birthday and his staying power as a poet of conscience."— Bloomsbury Review Jack Hirschman is a San Francisco poet, translator and editor. His powerfully eloquent voice set the tone for political poetry in this country many years ago. He is the author of numerous books of poetry, plus some forty-five translations from a half a dozen languages, as well the editor of anthologies and journals.

Genres: Poetry

128 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2002

About the author

Jack Hirschman is a San Francisco poet, translator, and editor. His powerfully eloquent voice set the tone for political poetry in this country many years ago. Since leaving a teaching career in the 60s, Hirschman has taken the free exchange of poetry and politics into the streets where he is, in the words of poet Luke Breit, "America s most important living poet." He is the author of numerous books of poetry, plus some 45 translations from a half a dozen languages, as well as the editor of anthologies and journals. Among his many volumes of poetry are Endless Threshold, The Xibalba Arcane, and Lyripol (City Lights, 1976). "

Reviews

[Arnoldo Garcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Frontlines is a good compilation to get to know Jack Hirschman, red poet laureate.

[Cathy M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Compilation of poems from Jack Hirschman, covering the timeframe from the 1950s up to 2001. Lots of his references of San Francisco take me back, especially in the 1990s when we were out most nights of the week, often at places that he mentions in some of his poems. Some of the poems from the late 90s to early 2000s are just as pertinent in 2025.

[James Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love how Jack can rope you in with polemics then make you cry with pure humanity.

[James · Rating 2 out of 5]

Largely inane ramblings of a communist.