Janet Kenny sings—nowhere more so than in this new collection, This Way to the Exit. Music is the underlying trope, symbol and technique of Janet Kenny's outstanding poetic oeuvre, whether as the dedication to this volume ('to music'), or as the explicit (or implicit but vital) topic of so many of her individual poems ('To Franz Schubert', 'Celebrity Recital', 'Antal Szalai's Gypsy Band ...', 'Out Loud', ), or as the incidental figures within poems formally focused elsewhere ('Takeoff' or 'Mangoes'), or (to flip the trope) as Muzak, betokening the god-awful object of the poet's satire ('Butterflies'), or, most quintessentially, as the pervasive word-music that is the emblematic quality of this poet's work. Janet Kenny is a musician, and it really shows in this book. While always remaining true to her individual vision, her work should be placed in the Australian poetic pantheon not very far from Judith Wright's, for its richness, its finely nuanced responsiveness to Australia and its natural and human environment, and for its deep humanity. ~ Paul Stevens Editor, The Chimaera, The Flea, SCR There are only sixty-two pages here, not enough, not enough. Read 'Mangoes' and you will have read a perfect poem. Perfect poems are rare, as poets know all too well. By perfect I mean that the poem does not put a foot wrong, that not a word could be changed without altering the perfect balance. Robert Graves reckons have a dozen such justifies a life given over to his White Goddess. And Janet Kenny has one here. No, I lie, she has two. 'Moonlight as a Woodcut' is another. All the poems are worth your time, her time. For she is a poet, a real one. Buy this book. I shall. ~ John Whitworth

This Way to the Exit

Literature & Fiction

Kenny, Janet

Poetry

White Violet Press

The often political poems in Janet Kenny’s exuberant Whistling in the Dark flaunt a spirit rebellious against “commonplace conformity” and disdainful of authorities ranging from the “perfect bureaucrat” to George Bush II himself. In one “wail” she laments: “I waked up an’ t’ world were al smashed’n broken.” Kenny’s response to this broken world is to state her indignation in the finely crafted exhibitions of order that are the poems in this book. Aaron Poochigian
 Whistling in the dark makes the tune ring bright and clear. Here are poems of observation and extrapolation, anger, despair and love. Here too are crafty jewels of impish humour and now and then a great belly laugh that sets pomposity on its head and has the reader drumming helpless heels on the floor. Nature is celebrated, stupidity deplored, and through it all runs a deep and particular music that Janet sings and hearts dance to. She writes from a life that has never been merely passed, but always actively spent. Much of it has been used to buy these poems and we are all beneficiaries of the bargain. Ann Drysdale

Whistling in the Dark

Kelsay Books

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Kenny, Janet. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Kenny, Janet

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Kenny, Janet. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

This Way to the Exit

Whistling in the Dark