The nightingale’s song, its night singing, touches something deeply mortal—and immortal—in each of us.
— Edward Hirsch

A celebration of master poets throughout the ages, To a Nightingale will hold readers spellbound as it reveals the enchanting story of a mysterious songbird. This fascinating book leads us through over two thousand years of verse, following the elusive nightingale from the days of ancient Greece to modern America, offering words from history’s greatest poetic minds. Each poem in this collection is a masterpiece.

But Nightingale is more than a collection of poems—its pages offer new insight into love, sorrow, and joy, and into the passion of poets. Editor Edward Hirsch’s introduction brings these timeless themes to the surface, allowing readers to see into hidden worlds, to see how the nightingale’s song has united artists over the centuries. Hirsch is “a natural-born teacher as well as a poet,” and his impassioned writing makes each poem a pleasure to read. This book is a perfect gift for anyone already devoted to poetry, or for anyone who wants to read poetry for the first time.

EDWARD HIRSCH, author of six poetry collections, three books of prose and, most recently, Poet's Choice, has received the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Prix de Rome, and a MacArthur Fellowship. He is president of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, and lives in New York.  

September 2007
8 1/4 x 5 1/4 in., 104 pages
ISBN: 978-0-8076-1587-4
Hardback, $20.00 (Canada $25.00)