Wild Gratitude

A new paperback edition of an early collection from Edward Hirsch, who has been called, by Harold Bloom, "utterly fresh, canonical, and necessary, " and by Robert Coles: "one of the finest poets we have." Whether describing pines and cedars in the night forest or a cat's purring as exquisite instruction in the art of praise, these poems express profound gratitude for life.

Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award in Poetry, 1986

This is a lovely and moving collection, and it has not only the courage of its strong emotions, but the language and form that makes and keeps them clear and true.
Anthony Hecht
Hirsch remains a poet of celebration, but the sorrows of the world are here too, in equal measure. The language is, throughout, simple, sensuous, and direct. We can be grateful for this book and this poet.
Jay Parini
I have known the poetry of Edward Hirsch for some time, and have greatly admired it. But I even more greatly admire his Wild Gratitude as a general collection, and I am convinced that the best poems here are unsurpassed in our time.
Robert Penn Warren"