From Room to Room
Jane Kenyon
The poems in From Room to Room are full of respect for a life deeply felt. Her vision apprehends the mystery beneath everyday circumstances and objects, from the bird feeder, to the clothespin and thimble, to the edges of the map. The book's final section consists of translations of six poems by Anna Akhmatova, whose lyric grace and force is akin to Kenyon's own.
"Rarely does one
encounter a first book which gives so much, so economically; and it is also rare that a
first book leaves the reader with so rich a sense of reward, for the poet's careful labors
are in the interest of the Mystery lying beneath everyday circumstances."
—Michael Benedikt
"The detail is
ravishing. Not a false line or false emotion. Every poem has the tenderness of
a child and the terrible knowledge of primal life."
—Ruth Stone
about the author
Jane Kenyon was born in Ann Arbor in
1947, and received her MA in English Language and Literature from the University of
Michigan. In 1975 she moved with her husband, Donald Hall, to his family's nineteenth
century farmhouse in New Hampshire. She was active in the community, particularly in the
Hospice movement. From Room to Room was her first book, published by Alice James Books in 1978. She was an active member of Alice James
Poetry Cooperative and a supporter for many years. She was the author of four other collections: The Boat of Quiet Hours,
Constance, Let Evening Come, and Otherwise: New and Selected
Poems. With a Russian scholar, she translated Twenty Poems of
Anna Akhmatova. Jane Kenyon died at her home in New Hampshire in April,
1995.
