All That's Left

This is Hirschman at his best. The poems are to the point and with a point. You will not find academic posing or vagueness or lazy lines. Hirschman has a lot to say and he is fearless. He is by far the best American poet alive. This is a good start if you've never read a book by him. Read him and you'll know why UCLA fired him during the Vietnam war and student movement. Read him and you'll know why one of his students at UCLA had the highest respect for him. Student's name? Yes, a fellow by the name of Jim Morrison.

Hirschman is one of America's great writers, stretching his words and thoughts in an almost limitless way (as Whitman did) reaching as deep and as high as he can with every thought, as if each poem will be his last and must be a testament to all things strong and free.

The fourth volume in the San Francisco Poet Laureate Series, All That's Left is a collection of poems calling for social justice. Written by street poet, translator, and activist Jack Hirschman, All That's Left begins with his autobiographical inaugural address, includes several of his earlier poems that benchmark the stages of his development, as well as works composed during his time as laureate. Hirschman also pays his respects to passed on fellow poets such as Kerouac and Bob Kaufman, in this direct, honest, and eye-opening anthology. "The Ways of Love Arcane": 'Only in its being gone does it exist,' / I whispered in the candle-lit dark. // Your response was the art of loving / which is a part of what I meant. // And it was a masterpiece you wrote / with your tongue. // But is Love gone? That love, yes, has. / But there's no end of loving here // or wherever you are, or even where / nowhere is.