Tricycle Talks

“Don’t Despair of This Falling World” with Jane Hirshfield

Sep 13, 2023

Poet Jane Hirshfield shares her journey of questioning and not-knowing in Zen practice and poetry. She discusses the importance of service and explores the impact of her poem 'Let them not say'. The podcast also delves into the concept of justice in Buddhism and the transformative power of poetry. Furthermore, Hirshfield highlights the connection between poetry and beginners mind, as well as the use of syntax and attention to create impactful poems.

57:26

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Quick takeaways

The central theme of questioning in Jane Hirshfield's poetry invites readers to resist fixity and certainty and instead dwell in not-knowing.

Hirshfield emphasizes the importance of uncertainty and doubt in poetry, as discomfort and difficult emotions can be valuable sources of information and growth.

Deep dives

The Asking: A Collection of Poems

The podcast episode features an interview with poet Jane Hirschfield about her new book, The Asking: New and Selected Poems. Hirschfield talks about the inspiration behind putting the collection together and discusses the central theme of questioning in her work. She shares her personal journey with Zen practice and how it has influenced her poetry. Hirschfield also explores the concepts of justice and compassion and their relationship to poetry. Throughout the conversation, she emphasizes the importance of uncertainty and doubt, and how discomfort and difficult emotions can be valuable sources of information and growth. The episode concludes with Hirschfield reading a couple of her poems from The Asking, showcasing her ability to defamiliarize the familiar and invite readers to see the world anew.

Introduction

3min

Exploring Questions and Service in Zen Practice and Writing

4min

Exploring the Poem 'Let them not say'

3min

Justice and Buddhism

21min

Exploring the Relationship Between Poetry and Beginners Mind

3min

The Power of Syntax and Attention in Poetry

20min

When poet Jane Hirshfield first arrived at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center nearly fifty years ago, a Zen teacher told her that it was a good idea to have a question to practice with. She’s been asking questions ever since. Both in her Zen practice and in her poetry, Hirshfield is guided by questions that resist easy answers, allowing herself to be transformed through the process of asking. With her latest poetry collection, The Asking: New and Selected Poems, she takes up the question, “How can I be of service?,” inviting readers to resist fixity and certainty and instead to dwell in not-knowing.

In this episode of Tricycle Talks, Tricycle’s editor-in-chief, James Shaheen, sits down with Hirshfield to talk about the questions she’s been asking recently, why she views poetry as an antidote to despair, and how Zen rituals have informed her creative process. Plus, she reads a few poems from her new collection.

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