100 Poems to Break Your Heart
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“The Small Square,” translated from Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen’s original Portuguese, from Log Book: Selected Poems. Copyright © 1972 by Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen. Translation copyright © 1997 by Richard Zenith. Reprinted by permission of Sterling Lord Literistic, Inc. and S.P.A. (Sociedade Portuguesa de Autores).
“Under One Small Star,” translated from Wisława Szymborska’s original Polish, from Map: Collected and Last Poems. Copyright © 1972 by The Wisława Szymborska Foundation. Translation by Clare Cavanagh and Stanisław Barańczak copyright © 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Reprinted by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
“Degrees of Gray in Philipsburg” from Making Certain It Goes On: Collected Poems of Richard Hugo by Richard Hugo. Copyright © 1973 by Richard Hugo. Used by permission of W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
“On This Side of the River” from New and Selected Poems by Stephen Berg. First appeared in American Review. Copyright © 1975 by Stephen Berg. Used by permission of Millie Lane-Berg.
“Aubade” from The Complete Poems of Philip Larkin, edited by Archie Burnett. First appeared in the Times Literary Supplement. Copyright © 1977 by Philip Larkin. Used by permission of Farrar, Straus and Giroux and Faber & Faber.
“Parents” from Effort at Speech: New and Selected Poems by William Meredith. First appeared in The New Yorker. Copyright © 1980 by William Meredith. Used by permission of TriQuarterly Books/Northwestern University Press.
“Essay” from Brothers, I Loved You All: Poems 1969–1977 by Hayden Carruth. Copyright © 1978 by Hayden Carruth. Used by permission of Sheep Meadow Press.
“Arches” from Collected Poems by James Schuyler. First appeared in the New York Review of Books. Copyright © 1978 by James Schuyler. Used by permission of Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
“Kindness” from Words Under Words: Selected Poems by Naomi Shihab Nye. Copyright © 1980 by Naomi Shihab Nye. Reprinted by permission of Far Corner Books.
“The Woman on the Bridge over the Chicago River” from The Ether Dome and Other Poems New and Selected (1979–1991) by Allen Grossman. Copyright © 1979 by Allen Grossman. Reprinted by permission of New Directions Publishing Corp.
“The Book of Yolek” from The Transparent Man by Anthony Hecht. First appeared in the New Statesman. Copyright © 1982 by Anthony Hecht. Used by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC.
“Mr Cogito and the Imagination,” translated from Zbigniew Herbert’s original Polish, from The Collected Poems 1956–1998. Copyright © 1983 by The Estate of Zbigniew Herbert. Translation by Alissa Valles copyright © 2007 by HarperCollins Publishers LLC. Used by permission of HarperCollins Publishers LLC.
“From My Window” from Collected Poems by C. K. Williams. First appeared in the Paris Review. Copyright © 1981 by C. K. Williams. Used by permission of Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
“Night Song” from The First Four Books of Poems by Louise Glück. First appeared in The New Yorker. Copyright © 1983 by Louise Glück. Used by permission of HarperCollins Publishers LLC.
“The Race” from The Father by Sharon Olds. First appeared in The New Yorker. Copyright © 1983 by Sharon Olds. Used by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC.
“In Memory of the Unknown Poet, Robert Boardman Vaughn” from The Sunset Maker by Donald Justice. First appeared in Antaeus. Copyright © 1984 by Donald Justice. Used by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC.
“The Dancing” from Early Collected Poems: 1965–1992 by Gerald Stern. Copyright © 1984 by Gerald Stern. Used by permission of W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
“For Anna Mae Pictou Aquash, Whose Spirit Is Present Here and in the Dappled Stars (for we remember the story and must tell it again so we may all live)” from In Mad Love and War by Joy Harjo. First appeared in the collection And the Ground Spoke (Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center). Copyright © 1986 by Joy Harjo. Reprinted by permission of Wesleyan University Press.
“Mendocino Rose” from River of Heaven by Garrett Hongo. First appeared in Crazyhorse. Copyright © 1987 by Garrett Hongo. Used by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC.
“Part XII (Dedications)” from “An Atlas of the Difficult World” from Collected Poems: 1950–2012 by Adrienne Rich. First appeared in Bridges: A Journal for Jewish Feminists and Our Friends. Copyright © 1991 by Adrienne Rich. Used by permission of W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
“The Gas-poker” from New Selected Poems by Thom Gunn, edited by Clive Wilmer. First appeared in the Threepenny Review. Copyright © 1992 by Thom Gunn. Reprinted by permission of Farrar, Straus and Giroux and The Estate of Thom Gunn.
“What He Thought” from Hinge & Sign: Poems, 1968–1993 by Heather McHugh. First appeared in Tikkun. Copyright © 1991 by Heather McHugh. Reprinted by permission of Wesleyan University Press.
“It Allows a Portrait in Line-Scan at Fifteen” from Subhuman Redneck Poems by Les Murray. First appeared in the Times Literary Supplement. Copyright © 1994 by Les Murray. Used by permission of Farrar, Straus and Giroux and Margaret Connolly & Associates.
“The People of the Other Village” from Split Horizon by Thomas Lux. First appeared in the American Poetry Review. Copyright © 1993 by Thomas Lux. Used by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
“For the Taking” from The Woman Who Died in Her Sleep by Linda Gregerson. First appeared in the Atlantic Monthly. Copyright © 1993 by Linda Gregerson. Reprinted by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
“Terminus” from Crossing the Equator: New and Selected Poems 1972–2004 by Nicholas Christopher. First appeared in the Paris Review. Copyright © 1993 by Nicholas Christopher. Reprinted by permission of Nicholas Christopher and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
“What the Living Do” from What the Living Do by Marie Howe. First appeared in the Atlantic Monthly. Copyright © 1994 by Marie Howe. Used by permission of W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
“The War Works Hard” from The War Works Hard by Dunya Mikhail, translated by Elizabeth Winslow. First appeared in Poetry International. Copyright © 1993, 2005 by Dunya Mikhail. Translation copyright © 2005 by Elizabeth Winslow. Reprinted by permission of Dunya Mikhail and New Directions Publishing Corp.
“Halley’s Comet” from The Collected Poems by Stanley Kunitz. Copyright © 1995 by Stanley Kunitz. Used by permission of W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
“Song” from Song by Brigit Pegeen Kelly. Copyright © 1995 by Brigit Pegeen Kelly. Reprinted with the permission of The Permissions Company LLC on behalf of BOA Editions Ltd.
“Simile” from Departure: Poems by Rosanna Warren. First appeared in The New Yorker. Copyright © 1996 by Rosanna Warren. Used by permission of W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
“In Memory of Joe Brainard” from Half-Light: Collected Poems 1965–2016 by Frank Bidart. Copyright © 1997 by Frank Bidart. Reprinted by permission of Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
“jasper texas 1998” from The Collected Poems of Lucille Clifton 1965–2010 by Lucille Clifton. Copyright © 2000 by Lucille Clifton. Reprinted with the permission of The Permissions Company LLC on behalf of BOA Editions Ltd.
“The Rapture” from The Radiant by Cynthia Huntington. Copyright © 2003 by Cynthia Huntington. Reprinted with the permission of The Permissions Company LLC on behalf of Four Way Books.
“Elementary Principles at Seventy-Two” from Talking Cures by Richard Howard. Copyright © 2002 by Richard Howard. Reprinted by permission of Turtle Point Press.
“Quarantine” from New Collected Poems by Eavan Boland. Copyright © 2008 by Eavan Boland.
“Woman Martyr” from Look There: New and Selected Poems by Agi Mishol, translated by Lisa Katz. Copyright © 2003 by Agi Mishol. Translation co
pyright © 2006 by Lisa Katz and The Institute for the Translation of Hebrew Literature. Reprinted with the permission of Agi Mishol and The Permissions Company LLC on behalf of Graywolf Press.
“We Are Not Responsible” from Sleeping with the Dictionary by Harryette Mullen. Copyright © 2002 by The Regents of the University of California. Reprinted by permission of University of California Press.
“Shelley” from Strong Is Your Hold by Galway Kinnell. First appeared in The New Yorker. Copyright © 2004 by Galway Kinnell. Reprinted by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
“Aphasia” from The Long Meadow by Vijay Seshadri. First appeared in The New Yorker. Copyright © 2004 by Vijay Seshadri. Reprinted with the permission of The Permissions Company LLC on behalf of Graywolf Press.
“On Wanting to Tell [ ] About a Girl Eating Fish Eyes” from Incarnadine by Mary Szybist. First appeared in Poetry. Copyright © 2008 by Mary Szybist. Reprinted with the permission of The Permissions Company LLC on behalf of Graywolf Press.
“Lead” from New and Selected Poems Vol. 2 by Mary Oliver. Copyright © 2005 by Mary Oliver. Used by permission of Charlotte Sheedy Literary Agency.
“Persimmon” from The Ninety-Third Name of God by Anya Krugovoy Silver. First appeared in Image. Copyright © 2010 by Anya Krugovoy Silver. Used by permission of Louisiana State University Press.
“Ethel’s Sestina” from Blood Dazzler by Patricia Smith. First appeared in Callaloo. Copyright © 2006 by Patricia Smith. Reprinted with the permission of The Permissions Company LLC on behalf of Coffee House Press.
“Woman, Mined” from Wet by Carolyn Creedon. First appeared in the Yale Review. Copyright © 2006 by Carolyn Creedon. Used by permission of Kent State University Press.
“Graveyard Blues” from Native Guard by Natasha Trethewey. Copyright © 2006 by Natasha Trethewey. Reprinted by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
“Requiem” from What to Eat, What to Drink, What to Leave for Poison by Camille Dungy. Copyright © 2006 Camille Dungy. Reprinted by permission of Red Hen Press.
“Aubade in Autumn” from Listening Long and Late by Peter Everwine. First appeared in The New Yorker. Copyright © 2007 by Peter Everwine. Reprinted by permission of the University of Pittsburgh Press.
“Barton Springs” from Unincorporated Persons in the Late Honda Dynasty by Tony Hoagland. First appeared in Poetry. Copyright © 2007 by Tony Hoag-land. Reprinted with the permission of The Permissions Company LLC on behalf of Graywolf Press.
“Failure” from Failure by Philip Schultz. Copyright © 2007 by Philip Schultz. Reprinted by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
“An Individual History” from An Individual History by Michael Collier. First appeared in the Virginia Quarterly Review. Copyright © 2009 by Michael Collier. Used by permission of W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
“The Second Slaughter” from Time Will Clean the Carcass Bones: Selected and New Poems by Lucia Perillo. First appeared in Poetry. Copyright © 2009 by Lucia Perillo. Reprinted with the permission of The Permissions Company LLC on behalf of Copper Canyon Press.
“Old School” from Celestial Joyride by Michael Waters. First appeared in the American Poetry Review. Copyright © 2012 by Michael Waters. Reprinted with the permission of The Permissions Company LLC on behalf of BOA Editions Ltd.
“Infinite Riches in the Smallest Room” from Stay, Illusion: Poems by Lucie Brock-Broido. First appeared in The New Yorkerunder the title “Noctuary.” Copyright © 2013 by Lucie Brock-Broido. Used by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC.
“The African Burial Ground” by Yusef Komunyakaa. First appeared in Poetry. Copyright © 2014 by Yusef Komunyakaa. Used by permission of Yusef Komunyakaa.
“The Addict’s Mother: Birth Story” from In the Months of My Son’s Recovery: Poems by Kate Daniels. First appeared in Five Points. Copyright © 2017 by Kate Daniels. Used by permission of Louisiana State University Press.
“Spirit Boxing” from Spirit Boxing by Afaa Michael Weaver. Copyright © 2017 by Afaa Michael Weaver. Reprinted by permission of the University of Pittsburgh Press.
“Obit [The Blue Dress]” from Obit by Victoria Chang. First appeared in Poem-a-Day from the Academy of American Poets. Copyright © 2018 by Victoria Chang. Reprinted with the permission of The Permissions Company LLC on behalf of Copper Canyon Press.
“Pantoum for the Broken” from “i”: New and Selected Poems by Toi Derricotte. Copyright © 2019 by Toi Derricotte. Reprinted by permission of the University of Pittsburgh Press.
“Krishna, 3:29 A.M.” by Meena Alexander. First appeared in Poetry. Copyright © 2018 by Meena Alexander. Used by permission of The Estate of Meena Alexander.
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Publisher's note: Every effort has been made to contact all copyright holders. If notified, the publisher will be pleased to rectify any errors or omissions at the earliest opportunity.
About the Author
Edward Hirsch has published ten books of poems and six books of prose, among them Gabriel: A Poem and How to Read a Poem and Fall in Love with Poetry, a national bestseller. He has received numerous awards, including the National Book Critics Circle Award and a MacArthur Fellowship. A longtime professor, Hirsch is currently the president of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation and lives in Brooklyn.
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