Jack Hirschman at Moe's, April 15th.

Very quickly, I want to post these pictures I took of Jack Hirschman at Moe's last week. As we were coming down the stairs to the basement, we could already hear the unusual grit in his voice, which he explained as resulting from some sort of medical procedure that had jangled his vocal chords a bit. At least, I think that’s what he said. We came in a few minutes late and only caught the very end of it.

His voice, if anything, added to his reading, which was equally characterized by his affectionate, careful enunciation and the kind of occasionally squinted eye that reminds one of a mischievous grandfather. The audience, likewise, arrived largely devoid of pretense, and the room had a feeling of warmth and camaraderie that one doesn’t always encounter at poetry readings.

Mr. Hirschman read primarily from his newest book, "All That's Left," about which he joked, "it's only a week old, and already it's a dollar off." We were fortunate to hear a preview of Mr. Hirschman’s May Day poem, which you should go watch him read at City Lights on May 1st.