Nine Gates: Entering the Mind of Poetry

AGateEnablespassagebetweenwhatisinsideandwhatisoutside,andtheconnectionpoetryforgesbetweeninnerandouterlivesisthefundamentalthemeofthesenineessays."NineGates"beginswithacloseexaminationoftherootsofpoeticcraftin"themindofconcentration"andconcludesbyexploringthewriter'sroleincreatingasenseofcommunitythatisopen,inclusiveandabletobindtheindividualandthewholeinawaythatallowseachfullself-expression.inbetween,"NineGates"illuminesthenatureoforiginality,translation,thevariousstrategiesbywhichmeaningunfoldsitselfinlanguage,poetry'srootsinoralmemoryandtheimportanceoftheshadowtogoodart.Apersonwhoenterscompletelyintotheexperienceofapoemisinitiatedintoadeeperintimacywithlife.Delvingintothenatureofpoetry,JaneHirshfieldalsowritesonthenatureofthehumanmind,perceptionandexperience."NineGates"isabouttheunderpinningsofpoeticcraft,butitisalsoaboutawayofbeingaliveintheworld--alertly,musically,intelligently,passionately,permeably.Inpartaprimerforthegeneralreader,"NineGates"isalsoamanualfortheworkingwriter,witheach"gate"exploringparticularstrategiesoflanguageandthoughtthatallowapoemtoconveymeaningandemotionwithclarityandforce.Aboveall,"NineGates"isaninsightfulguidetothewaythemindofpoetryawakensourfundamentalconsciousnessofwhatcanbeknownwhenapersonismostfullyalive.