Jane Kenyon (1947–1995)
Author of Otherwise: New & Selected Poems
About the Author
Jane Kenyon (1947-1995) published four collections of poetry during her lifetime: From Room to Room, The Boat of Quiet Hours, Let Evening Come, and Constance, as well as a volume of translations, Twenty Poems of Anna Akhmatova. Kenyon's posthumous publications include Otherwise: New Selected Poems show more and A Hundred White Daffodils. Her Collected Poems was published in 2005. show less
Works by Jane Kenyon
"Bright unequivocal eye" poems, papers, and remembrances from the First Jane Kenyon Conference (2000) 4 copies
Green House, volume I, number II, winter 1977: Special Seciton: Poetry in Translation — Editor — 1 copy
Green House, volume II, number I, winter 1978: Special Section: Poems of Affection — Editor — 1 copy
What it's like 1 copy
Associated Works
The Making of a Poem: A Norton Anthology of Poetic Forms (2000) — Contributor — 1,303 copies, 9 reviews
Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama (1995) — Contributor, some editions — 946 copies, 7 reviews
Sisters of the Earth: Women's Prose and Poetry About Nature (1991) — Contributor — 405 copies, 5 reviews
Cries of the Spirit: A Celebration of Women's Spirituality (2000) — Contributor — 377 copies, 2 reviews
When She Named Fire: An Anthology of Contemporary Poetry by American Women (2008) — Contributor — 12 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1947-05-23
- Date of death
- 1995-04-23
- Gender
- female
- Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
- Place of death
- Wilmot, New Hampshire, USA
- Cause of death
- leukemia
- Places of residence
- Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
Wilmot, New Hampshire, USA - Education
- University of Michigan (BA|1970|MA|1972)
- Occupations
- poet
translator - Relationships
- Hall, Donald (husband)
- Awards and honors
- PEN/Voelcker Award (1994)
Members
Reviews
Lists
Awards
You May Also Like
Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 14
- Also by
- 16
- Members
- 1,209
- Popularity
- #21,245
- Rating
- 4.0
- Reviews
- 15
- ISBNs
- 21
- Favorited
- 10
Large volumes of the collected poetry of a particular poet have become a special treat and addiction for me. You’re sure to find the familiar, the better-known poems, but also the B-sides, so to speak. I still prefer to experience a musician’s latest work via an album, with everything available in the order the artist has chosen. Sitting down with a thick book of poetry allows you to see all their work and get a good feel for them. You will see how their work evolved as their life continued.
Being originally from New England, the setting of many of these poems seems to me extremely familiar and comfortable. I think I still have a feel for the pace of life there. Kenyon loved to write short poems that often came across as meditations on the familiar things, situations, and feelings that are common with many of us.
I came across this quote from Wendell Berry in the New York Times about how Kenyon didn’t allow Hall’s fame and style to stop her from becoming the poet she wanted to be, as "a poet who had set up shop smack in the middle of another poet's subject." Donald Hall was more famous and showier than Jane, and often took up much more of the oxygen in the room. He went on to write about losing her in both memoir (The Best Day the Worst Day), and poetry (Without), after she died of leukemia in early 1995, at the age of 47. Her own poetry rarely touched on her leukemia, but her long experience with depression often made an appearance in her words.
I came away from this book with so much more of an appreciation for her work. As often happens, sitting down with a favored writer and a drink is an adventure through another door. It’s a shame that more of us couldn’t then sit down with the actual writer, drink or not. Having hosted so many writers over the years in our different bookstores, I feel very spoiled in this regard. A few were disappointments, but by far most of them are just like you hoped they would be. Oh, artists.… (more)