In memory of Pierre Joris (1946-2025)

March 3, 2025

ON THE ROCKS
that man-shaped tree trunk
on the rocks at low tide
borders the narrows,
at high tide the day
before, it beat its wooden
semblance against those
same rocks – the twin
branches imitating legs
submerged, the pin-
head angled up, banging
on the rocks at algae
level.
the twist has stayed

with me these three
days, the anthropos slowly
washed up,
washed out.

–Pierre Joris, Interglacial Narrows

The compression, mystical density, and levitation of the poetry of Paul Celan was moved forward by no other poet with the intensity of Pierre Joris. His two large volumes of Paul Celan translations Memory Rose into Threshold Speech appeared in 2020.

We were very enthusiastic when Pierre accepted the annual ‘T’ Space Poetry Award and read at the June 2, 2024 opening of Peter Halley and Steph Gonzalez-Turner’s exhibition. We are honored that his name tops our annual poetry award recipients list.

Pierre dedicated his life to the craft, often writing about the works of others—such as his A City Full of Voices: Essays on the Work of Robert Kelly (2020). Robert Kelly was his teacher decades ago at Bard College. Our 2014 ‘T’ Space Poetry Awardee was Robert Kelly, who has written and read many poems at ‘T’ Space events. Pierre sent me his noted copy of Interglacial Narrows—his own poems, yet still one section is titled “Homage to P.C.”—again, Paul Celan stands like a sun in which other poet’s planets turn in orbits.

Where I grew up beside the Pacific Northwest inland sea of Puget Sound, there are many “narrows” where the changing tides stir up terrific surge currents whipping rapidly by… therefore I was happy to discover Pierre’s title Interglacial Narrows refers to the view from his Brooklyn writing desk of the Verrazano Narrows.

The mysterious painting on the book’s cover is a strange open-beak cormorant by his wife, the artist Nicole Peyrafitte. We all hope she carries Pierre’s spirit on in some way. Pierre was a poet of rare gravitas, like Paul Celan, imminent in irreplaceable uniqueness.

–S. Holl, 02/28/2025, Rhinebeck

THE POET’S JOB

pick up everything that shines
discard the gold

keep the light

–Pierre Joris