Jane Hirshfield has many admirers worldwide. She is as adored by her legion of fans as she is by her fellow poets. The Polish Nobel Prize winning poet, Wisława Szymborska, called her 'a poet very close to my heart'. Another Polish Nobel Laureate, Czesław Miłosz, commented on her 'profound empathy for the suffering of all beings'. Critics too shower praise on her work. Susan Mansfield writing in The Scotsman spoke of her 'poems of wisdom, steeped in a profound understanding of what it is to be human.'

In this episode of Nothing But The Poem, our regular podcast host Samuel Tongue reads and then discusses two wonderful Jane Hirshfield poems, and reports back from the monthly online meetup of the Friends of the SPL group who had a lively discussion around these poems.

Mathematics from Given Sugar, Given Salt (2001)

For What Binds Us from Of Gravity and Angels (1988)

This edition of Nothing But The Poem features two poems by the American poet Jack Gilbert (1925-2012), both of which are included in Gilbert's penultimate collection 'Refusing Heaven'.

Our regular podcast host, Samuel Tongue, after discussing the poems with the Friends of the SPL group (who meet monthly on Zoom), takes his customary deep dive into the stanzas, lines, words and sounds.

“He takes himself away to a place more inward than is safe to go; from that awful silence and tightening, he returns to us poems of savage compassion.” - James Dickey, on Jack Gilbert

"The unique kernel of Gilbert’s poetry is its fearless exploration of the adult heart. It takes a moment to have a fling or write one good line, but sustaining authentic emotional participation, as Gilbert has in his life as a poet, is terrifying and hard, and is practically a lost art." - Sarah Manguso, The Poetry Foundation

The two poems by Jack Gilbert read and discussed on the podcast are:

1. Failing and Flying

2. How Much of That is Left in Me

Mohammed Moussa, a Palestinian freelance journalist and poet, was born and raised in the Gaza Strip. Growing up in this conflict-ridden region, he faced numerous challenges that shaped his perspective and fueled his passion for storytelling. Despite the hardships, Moussa found solace in literature and poetry, using them as outlets to express his experiences and emotions.

In this podcast, Mohammed Moussa is in conversation with Kevin Williamson. A discussion Kevin described as one of the most moving of his life.

Mohammed Moussa's newest collection The face before you: To write poetry on genocide (Leamington Books) is out in February 2026 and is available to buy from the SPL bookshop here.