I just love the way you select your words. They fill my mouth as I read them.
Penny Goldstine
How generous of you to write with such honesty. You open a window to your feeling and thoughts that causes us to feel joy.
Angela Swetnam
Because you have been so honest and genuine in those poems, I imagine that anyone can find glimpses -- recognitions -- of his own life in them. I know I have! Among them ... I found almost exact parallels. In ”Remnants” -- the house I grew up in, about three blocks from where I now live, burned down about five years ago and was shoveled away. And “Accessory to the Second” shows the same mind set that has kept my signature to be John F. Joline III. My father always used to say that his father was John F. Joline, he was Jr. and I was III, no matter who was still living.
John F. Joline III, English Master, St. Louis Country Day School 1950-58
After reading your beautiful poems, my interpretation was that through them you were reconciling your deepest spiritual thoughts and feelings that helped you define your life.
Carmen Cepero
Maurice L. Hirsch, Jr. distills, from the ordinary and not
so ordinary things and events in his life, extraordinary metaphors,
which invite his readers to wander through his poems, with delight
and wonderment, and discover in them the beauty and profundity
he sees and creates anew. These poems will inspire you with their
gentleness, compassion, warmth, and joy.
Louis Daniel Brodsky, author of Paper-Whites
for Lady Jane and Forever, for Now
Behold the poet, transformed cowboy, mutational accounting
professor, who is determined to make these words known. Hirsch looked
into his life and invested it with a soul of poetry. It is
not the ordinary thing to do with ordinary events. This is
an extraordinary collection.
Rabbi James Stone Goodman
By turns poignant, humorous, ironic, but never despairing, the poems by Maurice L. Hirsch, Jr. in Stares to Other Places and Roots and Paths are consistently thought-provoking and deeply affecting. Hirsch has a distinctive poetic voice that gives expression to the entire constellation of feelings associated with the human condition—relationships, including marriage and parenthood, and the unpredictability, fragility, and preciousness of life.
Robert A. Cohen, Editor-in-Chief Emeritus, St. Louis Jewish Light
In his poem, "Freedom," Hirsch writes, "Tonight we gather
again to tell the story." And that is what he does in Stares
to Other Places. This big-hearted collection is about
all the biggies: birth, death, the importance of family, the depth
of friendships, the ever-present gaze into one's own mortality. Hirsch's
willingness to open his heart to us should be enough. But, more than
that, is how he does it: with the depth of the elder and the innocence
of the youth, with the forgiveness of the ageless and the simple
wisdom of the boy. Through the poetry of his stories we all can be
emboldened ... again.
Roswell Messing, III, Ph.D.,
psychotherapist
The poems in Stares to Other Places remind me that
for every step forward there is a step back. The step back is to
another time. Each happening today is part of a memory of yesterday
and the day before. Hirsch's poems make me laugh and cry with memories
of my own as well as with empathy for another person making
his way in the world.
Ruth Andre, artist and teacher
I read (Roots and Paths) last night and was very touched.
I admire your ability to process your experiences in such an intimate,
open, creative - and at times, drolly funny way. Talk about
a wonderful sense of basic trust! Your writing, phrasing, and "placement" of
words and stanzas has grown over time and is sophisticated and very
compelling. So, not only am I touched to have more glimpses of your
thoughts, I am very impressed. It is also a different experience
to see these all in a book, grouped together, as opposed to individually.
Marilyn Wechter
I read it last night before I went to bed all in one sitting. I
love it. It is beautiful, simple, moving, and filled with moments
of recognition for me: ‘oh yes, I know that feeling,
that fear, that joy, that love.’ I am so happy for you
that you wrote something so wonderful and were able to take it to
its conclusion. Incredibly satisfying.
Timi Near, Artistic Director, San Jose Repertory
Theatre
I climbed into bed last night around 1:15, thought I'd read
the 1st section and nod off. At 2:30 I was still reading, still
crying, still profoundly moved. … The whole collection moved
me profoundly. The end result was that I wanted to whisk you away
for a month to ask questions and share experiences. I think
that's a good thing.
There was one poem that rang a chord in me so deep and so recognizable
that I read it 4 times before I could move on — Past Tense. So
I'm not alone in feeling like this and doing this to myself. Whew!
Claire Hirsch
I'm at the gallery today, and reading your Stares to Other
Places. Bud, you've captured so many true things about marriage
and family, and about being out on the trails. I'm not a horsewoman,
but I'm an enthusiastic hiker, and I recognized so much about
nature and wilderness in your work. The piece "Two Thirds and
Gaining" brought tears to my eyes, it was so beautiful. Like
you, I got married 42 years ago to my life partner. Thank you for
this amazing book and delightful surprise today! All of us
who know you will treasure your poems.
Patricia Newell Smith
