Jack Hirschman (1933–2021)

Open Gate is the first bilingual volume of Haitian Creole poetry published in English. Seven years in the making, this anthology is the result of the dedication of its editors and translators, Paul Laraque, Jack Hirschman and the Haitian poet Boadiba, as well as Max Manigat, one of the first teachers of Creole on the university level who was an invaluable advisor.

The editors focus on contemporary Creole poetry that reflects the struggle for human rights in Haiti. The book is divided into three sections: Pioneers of Modern Haitian Creole poetry, beginning with the founder of modern Haitian Creole literature, Felix Morisseu-Leroy (19131998); the flowering of Haitian poetry as represented by the literary movement, "Society of Butterflies," some of whose members were jailed or exiled by the bloody Duvalier dictatorship; and the New Generation featuring primrily those poets in the Diaspora whose work has been published in the last 15 years.… (altro)

Described as street-poet-turned-laureate, I can almost feel Mr. Hirschman yelling his poetry in the streets of San Francisco. This book is number 4 in the SF poet laureate series. The first, which I previously reviewed, evoked fond memories and taught me a few things about the city. This fourth is confrontational, about American policies, social justice, current events (such as Katrina and New Orleans, Virginia Tech), etc. While I appreciate these themes, I didn’t learn from him. His poems didn’t leave a foot print on my conscience. I simply was yelled at. His words are stark, raw, loud, and even potent at times. Perhaps they feel single faceted without depth, lots of angst but not evoke emotions. Call me crazy but I don’t particularly like experiencing brutality from my own book. :P

The poems that stood out were:
Jack Kerouac: A Meditation – a dedication to Jack Kerouac that inspires his passions for poetry. This was my favorite in the book.
The Ways of Love Arcane – where I smiled at a few lines including “Your Lips obsessed me, above and below.”
The Quntzeros Arcane – a crude set of words tied Iraq, Israel, America, and Palestine in a sexual description. Definite points for creativity.… (altro)