The Groundnote
Janet Kaplan
“In these exquisitely wrought poems, Janet Kaplan proves she is well-deserving of the acclaim she continues to receive.”
—Billings Gazette
"She is drawn to glorious
disasters, and out of that allure sounds her note, the groundnote of her title: a voice
sustained in all extremes high and low, recognizable and admirable throughout."
—Richard Howard
"Passion and
intelligence, the hallmarks of Janet Kaplan's poetry, rank her among the leading poets of
the newest generation of American writers. Miraculously, luminously, she places her
gut-wrenching personal history in the wider contexts of myth, class, and geography. In taking account of the whole world, she creates a world of understanding in The
Groundnote. Not only is it unusual, it is downright thrilling to read
a first book of such stature, plucky grace, and range."
—Molly Peacock
"Here, finally is a book
of poetry that reads like a book! There is such adroitness of craft and sequence—each poem lit by Janet Kaplans's steady spirit of intelligence—that the
reader can enter a peom of a difficult, even treacherous, nature and still experience real
discovery and delight. The Groundnote moves in and out of
shadow and myth, the human condition in its ringing specifics and in paradigms, but the
plot of this book is one of victory, the ongoing lyric of the groundnote
itself."
—Kate Knapp Johnson
about the author
Janet Kaplan’s two poetry collections are The Glazier’s Country, winner of the 2003 Poets Out Loud Prize from Fordham University Press, and The Groundnote, winner of the 1997 Alice James Books New England / New York competition. New work from Dreamlife of a Philanthropist, a book-in-progress, has appeared or is forthcoming in American Letters & Commentary, Denver Quarterly, Hotel Amerika, Open City, and Sentence, among others. Janet Kaplan attended Lehman College and Columbia University, and earned her MFA
degree in poetry at Sarah Lawrence College. She is the recipient of numerous awards and
honors, including fellowships at Yaddo, The Virginia Center for Creative Arts, and the
Ragdale Foundation in Illinois, and the Bronx Council on the Arts' BRIO
Award for Excellence in Poetry. She teaches poetry and creative writing at Hofstra University.
Author photo by Leslie Seligman
