On Oct 27, 2005, at 01:24, Joanna Boulter wrote:
> Or was that Thomas?
>
> Sorry, a bit discombobulated at the moment. Went up to Newcastle this
> evening to hear Jane Hirshfield read, which was a marvellous
> experience.
I saw her at this year's stAnza Festival, where among other things she
and Neal Astley launched her new book for Bloodaxe. She made a great
impression when she read at the book launch, but her "keynote" reading
later the same evening left something to be desired. I think she
started off with her strongest poems and for whatever reason went on to
weaker ones, so many of us left with an impression of disappointed
promise.
> Her work has a quality of calm attentiveness about it,
That I will agree to! She was very concerned with the instrumental
quality of her poems, presenting them at times as active tools one
could turn to when requiring a certain state of mind.
--Knut
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