Jack Hirschman

{{Short description|American poet and social activist (1933–2021)}}

{{Infobox writer

| name = Jack Hirschman

| image = Poet Jack Hirschman 07.jpg

| landscape = yes

| caption = Hirschman in November 2016

| birthname =

| birth_date = {{birth date|1933|12|13}}{{cite news |title=Happy Birthday |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/569973593/?terms=%22jack%20hirschman%22&match=1 |access-date=July 19, 2021 |agency=San Francisco Examiner |date=December 13, 2016}}

| birth_place = New York City, U.S.

| death_date = {{death date and age|2021|08|22|1933|12|13}}

| death_place = San Francisco, California, U.S.

| occupation = Poet, writer, essayist, social activist

| education = City College of New York (BA)
Indiana University Bloomington (MA, PhD)

| period = 1953–2021

| spouse = Ruth Epstein (divorced)
{{marriage|Agneta Falk|1999}}

| children = 2

}}

Jack Hirschman (December 13, 1933 – August 22, 2021) was an American poet and social activist who wrote more than 100 volumes of poetry and essays.{{cite news |last1=Whiting |first1=Sam |title=Jack Hirschman, Marxist poet and North Beach fixture dies at 87 |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Jack-Hirschman-Marxist-poet-and-North-Beach-16404434.php |access-date=August 23, 2021 |publisher=San Francisco Chronicle |date=August 22, 2021}}{{cite news |last1=Weiss |first1=Mike |title=Dean of SF Marxist poetry Jack Hirschman is lauded abroad unknown at home |url=https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Dean-of-S-F-s-Marxist-Poetry-Jack-Hirschman-is-3240534.php |access-date=July 19, 2021 |agency=San Francisco Chronicle |date=March 20, 2000}}

Early life and education

File:Art Pepper, Jack Hirschman, Dexter Gordon.jpg (left) and Dexter Gordon (right) chat with North Beach poet Jack Hirschman (center) at Keystone Korner in San Francisco, in October 1981]]

File:Beppe Costa con Leonardo Omar Onida, Jack Hirschman e Paul Polansky.jpg with Leonardo Omar Onida, Hirschman, and Paul Polansky in civic Theatre during the Ottobre in poesia festival in Sassari, Italy, in 2011]]

File:Jack and Agneta.jpg in July 2013]]

Hirschman was born on December 13, 1933, in New York City, into a Russian Jewish family. He received a Bachelor of Arts from the City College of New York in 1955, a Master of Arts in 1957, and Doctor of Philosophy in 1960 from Indiana University Bloomington, Indiana. While attending City College, he worked as a copy boy for the Associated Press.{{cite news |last1=Norton |first1=Justin |title=Jack Hirschman is the last of Beat Generation poets |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/236257158/?terms=jack%20hirschman&match=1 |access-date=July 18, 2021 |agency=Chicago Tribune |date=June 29, 2006}}

Career

At 19 years old, Hirschman sent a story to Ernest Hemingway, who responded: "I can't help you, kid. You write better than I did when I was 19. But the hell of it is, you write like me. That is no sin. But you won't get anywhere with it."{{cite news |title=Hemingway told Kid not to write like him |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/80541293/?terms=%22jack%20hirschman%22%20karl%20shapiro&match=1 |access-date=July 19, 2021 |agency=Statesman Journal |date=July 3, 1961}} Hirschman left a copy of the letter with the Associated Press, and when Hemingway killed himself in 1961, the "Letter to a Young Writer" was distributed by the wire service and published all over the world.{{cite news |last=Spear |first=Rosalie |url=https://lasvegasweekly.com/ae/2017/jan/18/poet-jack-hirschman-talks-hemingway-jim-morrison-/ |title=POET JACK HIRSCHMAN TALKS HEMINGWAY, JIM MORRISON AND VEGAS PLANS |work=Las Vegas Weekly |location=Las Vegas, NV |date=January 18, 2018 |access-date=September 26, 2019 }}{{cite news |title=Hemingway Took Time to Aid Aspiring Writer |access-date=July 19, 2021 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/155522677/?terms=%22jack%20hirschman%22&match=1 |agency=The Morning News (Wilmington, Delaware) |date=July 3, 1961}}

In the 1950s and 1960s, Hirschman taught at Dartmouth College and the University of California, Los Angeles. During his tenure at UCLA, one of the students enrolled in his class was Jim Morrison, later to be a cofounder and lead vocalist of the American band The Doors.

The Vietnam War, however, put an end to Hirschman's academic career; he was fired from UCLA after encouraging his students to resist the draft.{{cite web |title=Hirschman, Jack b. 1933 |url=https://archives-manuscripts.dartmouth.edu/agents/people/2321 |website=Dartmouth Library Archives & Manuscripts |access-date=June 13, 2021}} His marriage disintegrated, and he moved to San Francisco in 1973.

For a quarter century, Hirschman roamed San Francisco streets, cafes (including Caffe Trieste,{{cite news |last1=Adams |first1=John |title=Area Poets to Gather for 3 day conference |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/609256241/?terms=%22jack%20hirschman%22%20%22&match=1 |access-date=July 19, 2021 |agency=The Berkeley Gazette |date=May 15, 1978}} where he has been a regular patron), and readings, becoming an active street poet and a peripatetic activist. Hirschman was also a painter and collagist.

Death

Hirschman died from coronavirus-related causes at his home in San Francisco, on August 22, 2021, at the age of 87.{{cite news |last1=Bartlett |first1=Amanda |title=Famed San Francisco poet and activist Jack Hirschman dies, reports group he co-founded |url=https://www.sfgate.com/sf-culture/article/Famed-San-Francisco-poet-and-activist-Jack-16404245.php |access-date=August 22, 2021 |agency=SF Gate |date=August 22, 2021}}{{cite web |last1=Behramoglu |first1=Ataol |title=World Poetry Loses a Great Master |url=https://worldpoetrymovement.org/2021/08/22/world-poetry-loses-a-great-master/?fbclid=IwAR0sZSSTUFXsohx26DboHVuIFYwpknTbfzXvbf9yDctteP--c2iGjOuhW_s |website=World Poetry Movement |date=August 22, 2021 |access-date=August 22, 2021}}{{cite news |last1=Sullivan |first1=Denise |title=Agneta Falk on Jack Hirschman's arcane life and love |url=https://www.sfexaminer.com/culture/agneta-falk-on-jack-hirschman-s-arcane-life-and-love/article_5d9e76c8-25f6-519b-997c-7deb3f33f511.html |access-date=May 29, 2023 |website=San Francisco Examiner |date=September 26, 2021}} He was remembered by the San Francisco Chronicle as, "a scholar and translator in nine languages who threw over a career as a college professor for the life of a proletarian North Beach poet."{{Cite web |last=Whiting |first=Sam |date=August 22, 2021 |orig-date=August 23, 2021 |title=Jack Hirschman, Marxist poet and North Beach fixture, dies at 87 |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Jack-Hirschman-Marxist-poet-and-North-Beach-16404434.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221229012154/https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Jack-Hirschman-Marxist-poet-and-North-Beach-16404434.php |archive-date=December 29, 2022 |access-date=August 2, 2024 |website=The San Francisco Chronicle}}

=Poetry=

File:Jack Hirschman & Polish American translator Janusz Zalewski.JPG translator Janusz Zalewski at City Lights Bookstore Beats Festival in San Francisco in 2007]]

His first volume of poetry, A Correspondence of Americans, published in 1960 by Indiana University Press, included an introduction{{cite news |last1=Carvan John |first1=Godfrey D. |title=Explosive Element in Poet's work |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/574643920/?terms=%22a%20correspondence%20of%20americans%22&match=1 |access-date=July 19, 2021 |agency=St. Louis Globe Democrat |date=January 22, 1961}} by Karl Shapiro: "What a relief to find a poet who is not afraid of the vulgar or the sentimental, who can burst out laughing or cry his head off in poetry – who can make love to language, or kick it in the pants."{{cite book |last1=Hirschman |first1=Jack |title=A Correspondence of Americans |date=1960 |publisher=Indiana University Press |page=12 |url=https://archive.org/details/correspondenceof00hirs/page/n13/mode/2up |access-date=July 19, 2021}}

Among his many volumes of poetry are A Correspondence of Americans (Indiana University Press, 1960), Black Alephs (Trigram Press, 1969), Lyripol (City Lights, 1976), The Bottom Line (Curbstone, 1988), and Endless Threshold (Curbstone, 1992).

He also translated over two dozen books into English from languages including Hebrew, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Persian, Russian, Albanian, and Greek.

In 2006, Hirschman released his most extensive collection of poems yet, The Arcanes. Published in Salerno, Italy by Multimedia Edizioni, The Arcanes comprises 126 long poems spanning 34 years.

Also in 2006, Hirschman was appointed Poet Laureate of San Francisco by Mayor Gavin Newsom.{{cite news |title=Keeping pols on their toes |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/710359244/?terms=%22jack%20hirschman%22%20newsom&match=1 |access-date=July 19, 2021 |agency=Newsday |date=June 10, 2007}}{{cite news |title=Newsmakers: Jack Hirschman |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/566696972/?terms=%22jack%20hirschman%22%20newsom&match=1 |access-date=July 19, 2021 |agency=The San Francisco Examiner |date=July 30, 2008}} In his Poet Laureate inaugural address, Hirschman envisioned creating an International Poetry Festival in San Francisco, reprising a great tradition from the city's literary past.[https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/SAN-FRANCISCO-A-poet-laureate-of-the-people-2543757.php SFGate.com]

In July 2007, Friends of the San Francisco Public Library, Mayor Gavin Newsom, Hirschman, and the San Francisco Public Library presented their first San Francisco International Poetry Festival.{{cite web|url=http://www.friendssfpl.org/?SF_Intl_Poetry_Fest_2007|title=San Francisco International Poetry Festival 2007|publisher=Friends of the San Francisco Public Library|access-date=February 26, 2014}}

Hirschman was named Poet-in-Residence with Friends of the San Francisco Public Library in 2009. Hirschman continued his work supporting the literary community and was the key organizer for the now biennial San Francisco International Poetry Festival.

From 2007 Festival on, Hirschman, in partnership with Friends of the San Francisco Public Library and the San Francisco Public Library, have presented smaller poetry festivals in a variety of languages, including the Latino Poetry Festival, the Vietnamese Poetry Festival, and the Iranian Arts Poetry Festival.

Hirschman curated the Poets 11 Anthology, which collected poetry from each of the city's 11 districts.{{cite news |title=Prolific S.F. poet finds wisdom in Communism, Kabbalah |url=https://www.jweekly.com/2014/04/04/prolific-s-f-poet-finds-wisdom-in-communism-kabbalah/ |access-date=August 23, 2021 |agency=J Weekly |date=April 4, 2014}}

Hirschman was a long time mentor to author and actress Amber Tamblyn.{{cite web | url=https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/books/actor-amber-tamblyn-remembers-poet-jack-hirschman-as-mentor-with-integrity-beyond-reproach | title=Actor Amber Tamblyn remembers poet Jack Hirschman as mentor with 'integrity beyond reproach'}}

Political views

File:Jack Hirschman speaks at Book Passage in Marin County.jpg]]

Hirschman supported the anti-war movement, the Black Panther Party,{{Citation|title=Jack Hirschman, l'ultimo dei Beat smitizza la Beat Generation e dice no alla Guerra: Sempre| date=May 26, 2011 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVgArR4KpSw |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211219/yVgArR4KpSw |archive-date=2021-12-19 |url-status=live|language=en|access-date=August 23, 2021}}{{cbignore}} and advocated for the rights of the unhoused.

According to a 2006 book review, Hirschman was a Stalinist.Kaufman, Alan. [https://www.sfgate.com/books/article/Superb-landscapes-full-of-horrible-glory-2485081.php "Superb landscapes full of horrible glory"], San Francisco Chronicle (November 12, 2006): "A die-hard Stalinist Communist, he is also a virtuoso kabbalah scholar who, as a Yiddish-inflected Jew and artist, would probably have been executed – alongside such figures as Isaac Babel and Osip Mandelstam – in the Soviet Union about which he so fervently rhapsodizes." Hirschman translated the youthful poems of Joseph Stalin into English (Joey: The Poems of Joseph Stalin; Deliriodendron Press, 2001). He was an assistant editor at the left-wing literary journal Left Curve and was a correspondent for The People's Tribune. He was active with the Revolutionary Poets Brigade. Hirschman is profiled in the 2009 documentary Red Poet{{cite web |title=Red Poet |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1534830/ |website=imdb |access-date=August 23, 2021}} in which he identifies as a Marxist-Leninist. He stated in an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, “The most important thing as a poet is that I worked for the Communist movement for 45 years, and the new class of impoverished and homeless people.”

Personal life

In 1954, Hirschman married Ruth Epstein, whom he'd met and dated when they were students at CCNY.{{cite web|url=https://www.myheritage.com/research/record-10182-2504535/ruth-epstein-in-biographical-summaries-of-notable-people|title=Ruth Epstein|publisher=MyHeritage|access-date=June 8, 2018}} Following graduation, Ruth became a program director for KPFK and eventually general manager of Santa Monica public radio station KCRW. The couple had two children, David and Celia.

Selected works

=Collections=

A Correspondence of Americans Indiana University Press, 1960
(With Franz Kline) Kline Sky, The Zora Gallery, 1965
Yod, Trigram Press, 1966
Black Alephs: Poems, 1960-1968, Phoenix Bookshop, 1969
HNYC, R. Tamblyn Skyline Press, 1971
The Burning of Los Angeles, J'Ose Press, 1971
Endless Threshold, Curbstone Press, 1992 {{ISBN|9781880684009}}
Front Lines, City Lights Publishers, 2002 {{ISBN|9780872864009}}
Only Dreaming Sky, Manic D Press, 2007 {{ISBN|9781933149134}}
All That's Left, City Lights Publishers, 2008 {{ISBN|9781931404082}}
The Ulitsea Arcane, Nicola Viviani Edizioni, 2012
Talking Leaves, Sore Dove Press, 2013
Passion, Provocation and Prophecy, Swimming with Elephants Publications, 2015
The Arcanes : 2006-2016 Multimedia Edizioni, 2016 {{ISBN|9788886203456}}

=Editor=

Revolutionary Poets Brigade (Volume 1) Caza de Poesía, 2010 {{ISBN|9781936293254}}
Poets 11 Anthology 2012 Friends of the San Francisco Public Library, 2016 {{ISBN|9781482331295}}
(with Falk, Agneta) Heartfire: 2nd Revolutionary Poets Brigade anthology Kallatumba Press, 2013 {{ISBN|9780578127354}}
(with Curl, John) Overthrowing capitalism : a symposium of poets Kallatumba Press, 2014 {{ISBN|9781502304520}}
(with Curl, John) Overthrowing capitalism. Volume two, Beyond endless war, racist police, sexist elites Kallatumba Press, 2015 {{ISBN|9781517596507}}
(with Curl, John) Overthrowing capitalism. Volume three, Reclaiming community Kallatumba Press, 2016 {{ISBN|9781537516790}}
Poets 11 Anthology 2016 Friends of the San Francisco Public Library, 2016 {{ISBN|9781537374604}}
(with Curl, John and Falk, Agneta) Overthrowing capitalism. Volume four Kallatumba Press, 2017 {{ISBN|9781977685384}}
(with Curl, John) Building Socialism: World Multilingual Poetry from the Revolutionary Poets Brigade Homeward Press, 2020 {{ISBN|9780938392149}}
(with Curl, John) Building Socialism, Volume 2 - Fighting Fascism Homeward Press, 2021 {{ISBN|9780938392156}}

=Translator=

Artaud, Antonin Antonin Artaud anthology City Lights Publishers, 1965 {{ISBN|9780872860001}}
(with Victor Erlich) Mayakovsky, Vladimir Electric Iron Maya Books, 1971
Dalton, Roque, Poemas Clandestinos Clandestine Poems Solidarity Publications, 1984 {{ISBN|9780942638073}}
(with Mark Eisner, John Felstiner, Forrest Gander, Robert Hass, Stephen Kessler, Stephen Mitchell, and Alastair Reid) Neruda, Pablo, The Essential Neruda City Lights Publishers, 2004 {{ISBN|9780872864283}}
Pasolini, Pier Pablo, In Danger : a Pasolini anthology City Lights Publishers, 2010 {{ISBN|9780872865075}}
Sénac, Jean, Citizens of Beauty : Poems of Jean Sénac Michigan State University Press, 2016 {{ISBN|9781609174859}}

References

External links

[http://www.sfcall.com/issues%202002/5.24.02/hirschman_biblio_5_24_02.htm Jack Hirschman: A bibliography], by Hirschman and Matt Gonzalez, in the May 24, 2002 San Francisco Call.
[http://www.instaplanet.com/jack.html Defiant, A Proclamation by Jack Hirschman], and four of Hirschman's poems presented by The InstaPLANET Cultural Universe.
[https://www.sfgate.com/thingstodo/article/San-Francisco-International-Poetry-Festival-3223143.php San Francisco International Poetry Festival], by Nirmala Nataraj, July 23, 2009 San Francisco Chronicle
{{IMDb name|2978702}}