Jane Hirshfield
- Born:
- February 24, 1953, New York City, New York, USA
- Nationality:
- American
- Profession(s):
- Poet, Essayist
Early Life and Education
- Hirshfield was raised in a secular Jewish household.
- She graduated from Princeton University in 1973 as the first woman in her graduating class to major in its first graduating class in that major.
- She dedicated eight years to Zen practice before fully committing to her writing career.
Career and Major Achievements
- Hirshfield is recognized for her work exploring themes of science, nature, social justice, and the human condition.
- She has held fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Academy of American Poets.
- She was a Visiting Professor at Duke University.
- She has served as a Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets.
Notable Works
- Poetry Collections:
- Alaya (1982)
- Of Gravity & Angels (1988)
- The October Palace (1994)
- Given Sugar, Given Salt (2001)
- After (2006)
- Come, Thief (2012)
- The Beauty (2015)
- Ledger (2020)
- Essays:
- Nine Gates: Entering the Mind of Poetry (1997)
- Edited Collections:
- Women in Praise of the Sacred: 43 Centuries of Spiritual Poetry by Women (1994) (co-editor)
- Mirabai: Ecstatic Poems (translation)
Legacy and Impact
Jane Hirshfield is a highly regarded contemporary American poet and essayist. Her work is known for its intellectual depth, emotional resonance, and its exploration of the intersections between science, nature, and human experience. Her contributions to contemporary literature, as evidenced by this concise jane hirshfield biography, have established her as a significant voice in the field.