Paperback / softback | |
February 22, 2017 | |
9781421422442 | |
English | |
96 | |
8.50 Inches (US) | |
5.50 Inches (US) | |
.3 Pounds (US) | |
.3 Pounds (US) | |
$22.00 USD, £16.50 GBP | |
v2.1 Reference | |
Electronic book text | |
March 21, 2017 | |
9781421422459 | |
9781421422442 | |
English | |
96 | |
8.50 Inches (US) | |
5.50 Inches (US) | |
$22.00 USD, £16.50 GBP | |
v2.1 Reference | |
That Swing
Poems, 2008–2016
Some poems are personal recollections of childhood and growing up, as in "My Mother Consigns to the Flames My Trove of Comic Books." "Thomas Hardy's Obsequies" tells the bizarre true account of the literary giant's burial. Other poems portray memorable characters, from Jane Austen ("Jane Austen Drives to Alton in Her Donkey Trap") to a giant land tortoise ("Lonesome George") to a slow-witted man hired to cook for a nudist colony ("Pudge Wescott"). Kennedy is a storyteller of the first order, relating tales of travel to far-reaching places, from the Galápagos Islands and Tiananmen Square to the hectic back streets of Bamako, Mali. This wise and clever book is rounded out with adept translations of work by Charles Baudelaire, Stéphane Mallarmé, Arthur Rimbaud, and others.
About the Author
Reviews
"Typical of Kennedy's versatility and willingness to defy poetic expectations . . ."—Los Angeles Review of Books
"Now eighty-six, we should all hope Kennedy amends this closing prayer, and asks the Lord to let him produce quality work well into his nineties."—Claremont Review of Books
"These are beautiful poems by one of the best poets we have."—Sewanee Review, reviewing a previous edition or volume
"For over forty years, technical virtuoso X. J. Kennedy has entertained readers with tightly constructed formal poems in colloquial language. [Kennedy] makes us understand why our world drives us to song."—Southern Review, reviewing a previous edition or volume
"Mordant, funny, and even sometimes rather frightening; the poet, so much in control of his formal means, seems himself rather dismayed by the fearful things he points to."—Hudson Review, reviewing a previous edition or volume
"Well, here he goes again, America's finest formalist, with a simply delightful collection of new poems."—Texas Review, reviewing a previous edition or volume
"Kennedy's 'wit' is not mere cleverness. Rather it combines accuracy of perception with the metaphoric imagination that, with his ability to juggle fixed forms, enlivens the best poems in this satisfying collection."—New England Review, reviewing a previous edition or volume
"X. J. Kennedy? He ought to be declared a national resource and excused from taxation."—The Weekly Standard, reviewing a previous edition or volume
"Kennedy's work remains cultured, likable, and witty."—Publishers Weekly, reviewing a previous edition or volume
The Johns Hopkins University Press | |
Johns Hopkins: Poetry and Fiction | |
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|
Paperback / softback | |
February 22, 2017 | |
9781421422442 | |
English | |
96 | |
8.50 Inches (US) | |
5.50 Inches (US) | |
.3 Pounds (US) | |
.3 Pounds (US) | |
$22.00 USD, £16.50 GBP | |
v2.1 Reference | |
Electronic book text | |
March 21, 2017 | |
9781421422459 | |
9781421422442 | |
English | |
96 | |
8.50 Inches (US) | |
5.50 Inches (US) | |
$22.00 USD, £16.50 GBP | |
v2.1 Reference | |
Other Titles by X. J. Kennedy
The Bestiary, or Procession of Orpheus
In a Prominent Bar in Secaucus
The Lords of Misrule
Other Titles from Johns Hopkins: Poetry and Fiction
Imago
A Longing for Impossible Things
Water / Music
Other Titles in POETRY / American / General
Black Creole Chronicles
Her Birth and Later Years
Latter Days
Other Titles in Poetry
Winter Fruit
Feeding the Ghosts
The Safety of Small Things