It's absolutely crucial to maintain my life as a poet.
Edward HirschRead
As soon as something happens to us in America, everyone begins talking about healing. But before you heal, you have to mourn.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Healing requires acknowledging and processing one's grief before moving on.
Edward Hirsch emphasizes the importance of grief in the healing process, particularly in the context of collective trauma experienced in America. The quote suggests that while society may rush to seek resolution and recovery, true healing cannot occur without first allowing oneself to mourn and reflect on the pain experienced.
Themes
GriefHealingMourningLossTrauma
In practice
Example use cases
During a memorial service, this quote can be shared to remind attendees of the importance of grieving.
More from Edward Hirsch
All quotes βThe commitment to working at poetry is important because a poet is a maker, and a poem is a made thing. We have to honor our feelings by working to transform them into something meaningful and lasting.
Edward HirschRead
As far as I'm concerned, freedom is the most important thing to creativity. You should feel free to write in whatever way, whatever language, feels comfortable to you.
Edward HirschRead
The idea that a poem was a made thing stayed with me, and I decided then that I wanted to be an artist, not just a diarist. So I put myself through a kind of apprenticeship in writing poetry, and I understood even then that my practice as a poet was deeply related to my reading.
Edward HirschRead
And every year there is a brief, startling moment _x000D_ When we pause in the middle of a long walk home and _x000D_ Suddenly feel something invisible and weightless _x000D_ Touching our shoulders, sweeping down from the air: _x000D_ It is the autumn wind pressing against our bodies; _x000D_ It is the changing light of fall falling on us.
Edward HirschRead
When poetry separates from song, then the words have to carry all the rhythm themselves; they have to do all the work. They can't rely on the singing voice.
Edward HirschRead
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