To a Nightingale

by Edward Hirsch (Introduction)

Uniting the voices of thirty master poets, To a Nightingale traces the presence of literature's most celebrated bird from Sappho's fragments to the verse of Borges. The collection reveals a time-honored, poetic discussion of grief, solitude, beauty, song, and artistic expression--a discussion that moved history's greatest literary minds to create their greatest works. As Keats writes in his famous ode: Thou wast not born for death, immortal Bird...The voice I hear this passing night was heard in ancient days. His sentiment resounds throughout this book, echoing through the words of Milton, Shakespeare, Virgil, and other luminaries whose work directed the course of world literature. Bound by a common reverence for the nightingale's unchanging music, each author seems to speak intimately to the other, their sentiments resonating beautifully despite the passage of centuries. To a Nightingale is a powerful homage that inspires appreciation not only for the nightingale herself, but also for the poets who collectively made her song sacred to us. This book will appeal to anyone seeking a glimpse into the world of celebrated poetry.

Genres: Poetry

104 pages, Hardcover

First published September 17, 2007

About the author

Edward Hirsch is a celebrated poet and peerless advocate for poetry. He was born in Chicago in 1950—his accent makes it impossible for him to hide his origins—and educated at Grinnell College and the University of Pennsylvania, where he received a Ph.D. in Folklore. His devotion to poetry is lifelong.He has received numerous awards and fellowships, including a MacArthur Fellowship, a Guggenheim Fellowship, an Ingram Merrill Foundation Award, a Pablo Neruda Presidential Medal of Honor, the Prix de Rome, and an Academy of Arts and Letters Award. In 2008, he was elected a Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets.
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Edward Hirsch’s first collection of poems, For the Sleepwalkers (1981), received the Delmore Schwartz Memorial Award from New York University and the Lavan Younger Poets Award from the Academy of American Poets. His second collection, Wild Gratitude (1986), won the National Book Critics Award.
Since then, he has published six additional books of poems: The Night Parade (1989), Earthly Measures (1994),On Love (1998), Lay Back the Darkness (2003), Special Orders (2008), and The Living Fire: New and Selected Poems (2010), which brings together thirty-five years of poems.Hirsch is also the author of five prose books, including A Poet’s Glossary (2014), the result of decades of passionate study, Poet’s Choice (2006), which consists of his popular columns from the Washington Post Book World, and How to Read a Poem and Fall in Love with Poetry (1999), a national bestseller. He is the editor of Theodore Roethke’s Selected Poems (2005) and co-editor of The Making of a Sonnet: A Norton Anthology (2008). He also edits the series “The Writer’s World” (Trinity University Press).Edward Hirsch taught for six years in the English Department at Wayne State University and seventeen years in the Creative Writing Program at the University of Houston. He is now president of the
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation.

Reviews

[Jas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this collection of poems. It was interesting to look at how the symbolism of the nightingale has spanned across cultures and time among poets. I especially enjoyed that they viewed the nightingale in different ways. Some finding the bird to be inherently sad, while others thought it was love or joy. A great way to group the poems as well.

[Jo Dunn · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the (few) truly *traumatic* aspects I experienced - several years ago - around the decision to move (from a pastoral environment to the hubub a large city often brings) was the loss of the large - and numerous - bird feeding stations I maintained in my "countryside digs". I felt sad . . my cat was totally devastated! Edward Hirsch chose a diverse array of sonnets and prose in "To a Nightingale" that kept me entertained and (nostalgically) smiling!

[Mr. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an entertaining collection of literary allusions to the enchanting nightingale, a plain-colored bird with a distinctive song that poets have lyricized throughout the ages. As a bird nerd and poetry fanatic, this was a thoroughly enjoyable read.

[Dione Lee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Please review my post.