The poems in Jane Kenyon’s first book are full of respect for a life deeply felt. Her vision apprehends the mystery beneath everyday circumstances and objects, from the thimble to the edges of the map. The final section is translations of six poems by Anna Akhmatova.

From Room to Room: Poems

Literature & Fiction

Kenyon, Jane

Poetry

Alice James Books

The Boat of Quiet Hours

Graywolf Press

The Boat of Quiet Hours: Poems

Somber poems deal with the end of summer, winter dawn, travel, mortality, childhood, education, nature and the spiritual aspects of life

Let Evening Come: Poems

Somber poems deal with the end of summer, winter dawn, travel, mortality, childhood, education, nature and the spiritual aspects of life

Constance: Poems

Poems deal with depression and the grief brought about by the sickness and death of loved ones

Poems deal with depression and the grief brought about by the sickness and death of loved ones

Otherwise collects a lifetime's work of poetry by one of our most cherished poets. Opening with twenty poems and including generous selections from Jane Kenyon's four previous books-- From Room to Room, The Boat of Quiet Hours, Let Evening Come, and Constance-- this collection was selected and arranged by Kenyon shortly before her death in April 1995.
This extensive collection reveals a scrupulously crafted body of work in which poem after poem achieves a rare and somber grace. Light and shade are never far apart in these telling narratives of life at the poet's New Hampshire home. The shadow of depression in Jane Kenyon's verse has the force of a spiritual presence-- a god, demon, angel. Yet her work emphasizes the constant effort of her imagination to redeem her suffering. As her husband Donald Hall writes in the afterword to Otherwise, we share "her joy in the body and the creation, in flowers, music, and paintings, in hayfields and a dog."

Otherwise: New and Selected Poems

Otherwise collects a lifetime's work by one of contemporary poetry's most cherished talents. Opening with twenty new poems and including generous selections from Jane Kenyon's four previous books―From Room to Room, The Boat of Quiet Hours, Let Evening Come, and Constance―this collection was selected and arranged by Kenyon herself―alongside her husband, the esteemed poet Donald Hall―shortly before her death in April 1995.
 This extensive gathering reveals a scrupulously crafted body of work in which poem after poem achieves a rare and somber grace. Light and shade are never far apart in these telling narratives of life and love and work at the poet's rural New Hampshire home. The shadow of depression in Kenyon's verse, which grew much darker and longer at certain intervals, has the force and heft of a spiritual presence―a god, demon, angel. Yet her work emphasizes the constant effort of her imagination to confront and even find redemption in suffering. However quiet or domesticated or subtle in her moods and methods, Kenyon was a poet who sought to discover the extraordinary within the ordinary, and her poems continue to make this discovery. As Hall writes in the afterword to Otherwise, we share "her joy in the body and the creation, in flowers, music, and paintings, in hayfields and a dog."

Otherwise: New & Selected Poems

A Hundred White Daffodils: Essays, Interviews, The Akhmatova Translations, Newspaper Columns, and One Poem

"There is something in me that will not be snuffed out," Jane Kenyon told Bill Moyers in an interview. And there is no better proof of that than the overwhelming response her poetry generates. Kenyon's last collection, Otherwise: New &amp; Selected Poems, remains a phenomenon: a best-seller that testifies to the impact Kenyon has had on the poetic landscape.
A Hundred White Daffodils is a companion volume that sheds illumination on a poet, and a woman, of great presence. It offers glimpses into a life cut too short and traces the influences that created Kenyon's poetic voice. The book includes Kenyon's translations of the great Russian poet Anna Akhmatova, and insights into how Kenyon chose her as a muse. It presents a variety of Kenyon's prose pieces about the writing life, her spiritual life, her country community, her gardens-- themes that readers will well remember from her poems. Transcripts of interviews provide further understanding as Kenyon faces her struggle with depression and the losses wrought by illness. Finally, there is an unfinished, visionary poem that makes one wonder what might have been if Kenyon had been given the chance to create more poetry.
Including an introduction by Kenyon's husband and fellow poet, Donald Hall, and a bibliography of her publications, A Hundred White Daffodils is a gift to all those devoted to Kenyon's poetry.

Essays & Correspondence

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

Books by Kenyon, Jane

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

From Room to Room: Poems

The Boat of Quiet Hours

The Boat of Quiet Hours: Poems

Let Evening Come: Poems

Let Evening Come: Poems

Constance: Poems

Constance: Poems

Otherwise: New and Selected Poems

Otherwise: New & Selected Poems

A Hundred White Daffodils: Essays, Interviews, The Akhmatova Translations, Newspaper Columns, and One Poem