Poetic Technique

During the first week of class, I was a little skeptical about how poetry would grow on me but now at the end of all of this, I can say this has been one of the best classes I've taken. This class has

This was definitely my favorite chapter in Nine Gates. This response also took me a ridiculously long time to write because I have pretty mixed feelings about what Hirschfield is saying. To me, this c

In this chapter of Nine Gates, Jane Hirshfield describes what she calls the "threshold state of ambiguity, openness and indeterminacy" that poetry and prose allow for writers - as well as their audien

"Awareness of emptiness brings forth the heart of compassion." What this chapter really imparted in me was the idea of transforming the consciousness. There is a brief moment of time, the space in b

Within this chapter, Hirshfield maintains that knowledge realm of sound is very dissimilar from that of the visual when considering in what ways poetry works to create remembrance. She details that "s

Hey y'all, I hope everyone's well. I suppose I'll just jump right into discussing my "poetic journey." I have always been kind of scared of poetry. I really enjoy the media, and have always tried to

While reading this chapter, the main idea that I took away from Hirshfield was that as writers, we need to go beyond who we are and our experiences in order to write. "To speak, and to write, is to as

This was a really interesting chapter to read. I'm not very well versed in Buddhism or many of the spiritual practices Hirschfeld talks about, so she lost me at some points (which is not unusual for t

This final chapter of Nine Gates serves not only as summation of the book itself, but of my own journey as a writer, and a person. I think anyone who gives themselves over to the pursuit of truth - fo

"For most members of a community, the liminal is a point of transition, entered briefly, at a particular time, in passage towards something else; such persons are dipped into nonidentity and self-forg

On page 221, Hirshfield says something extremely intriguing (and quite simple). "To speak, and to write, is to assert who we are, what we think." For me, I have always viewed poetry as the opportunity

Within this chapter of Nine Gates, Hiershfield details the task often assumed by many twentieth century poets that is the task of choosing to look at and explore the part of the human experience that

Hello guys, I hope you all are doing well! Below I have attached a link to my portfolio, which features a collection of my poems from this semester, some of reflection/analysis of my time in class, an

This chapter took me a while to read because I would read one of the poems and then get inspired and write one myself, and this happened a few times. I really liked this section though. This was one o

While I have not always understood Hirschfield, I feel I took away an important aspect of being a good writer and a good person. In particular, Hirschfield points out that being a writer means being a

Hirshfield's final and probably most impactful chapter really drove home the idea poetry should push boundaries and capture all the joyful and painful life aspects we experience every day. Everyone's

"Speaking from the point of view of multiplicity, betweenness, and visitation, the writer can become a person in whom both individuality and community may ripen into true expression." (Hirschfield 205

I like how Hirshfield starts off the chapter by saying the many ways to look at this story and all of its images. I like how she says to consider the play in the light of a concept from anthropology t