Post by emilysi112 on May 30, 2013 20:25:01 GMT -5
Jane Kenyon was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, not intending to follow in her mother’s footsteps of housewifery. For this reason, Kenyon devoted herself to study at the University of Michigan, where she soon fell in love with her future husband, Donald Hall. She did not wish for her life “to be added to theirs”, but Kenyon still ended up as a housewife in rural New Hampshire by 1972. This distaste for domestic life is what drove Kenyon to poetry as a means of self-preservation. Kenyon described the rich rural landscapes of New Hampshire as a prison trapping her in domestic life and depression.
When Kenyon first moved into her husband’s ancestral home of Eagle Pond Farm in New Hampshire, she felt out of place and removed from her own life. Kenyon expressed her emotions by publishing a book of poetry entitled, From Room to Room, in 1978. She felt “clumsy here, thrusting slabs of maple into the stove” as though the objects in this house were not her own and she was invading a different life. Kenyon compares her entry into this home to that of a wasp and its nest because they both “ seem unable to enter its own house”. Writing poetry was her salvation throughout her domestic life.
In addition to writing her own poetry, Kenyon translated the poems of Anna Akhmatova from Russian to English. Kenyon’s translated poems were compiled into a book of poetry entitled, Twenty Poems of Anna Akhmatova in 1985. Kenyon insisted that translation was an essential skill for all poets to attempt. Shortly after this time, Kenyon published the book of poetry, The Boat of Quiet Hours in 1986.
Throughout Kenyon’s poetry career, she attempted to explain the torments of depression to those who have never experienced it, while also reaching out to those who struggle to this day. Hinting at her depression, the book of poetry Let Evening Come, was published in 1990. However, sadness throughout her entire life is compiled into a single poem, “Having it Out With Melancholy”. The poem suggests that the possible source of her depression was her father, “You taught me to exist without gratitude/You ruined my manners towards God”. Kenyon states that medications such as “Elavil, Ludiomil, Doxepin, Norpramin, Prozac, Lithium, Xanax, Wellbutrin, Parnate, Nardil, Zoloft.” have helped her overcome some of her depression. This long list of drugs makes a statement to the reader of Kenyon’s severe condition. Most of her self-discovery about her depression takes place her book Constance, published in 1993. However, Kenyon offers some insight to her relief from depression when she writes about nature and new life.
Kenyon has been acclaimed by many critics and writers, despite her relatively small body of work. Essayist Gary Roberts states that Kenyon’s poetry was "acutely faithful to the familiarities and mysteries of home life, and it is distinguished by intense calmness in the face of routine disappointments and tragedies." Kenyon also won the PEN/Voelcker Award for Poetry in 1994. And now, may I present New Hampshire’s poet laureate, Jane Kenyon.
Word Count: 508
When Kenyon first moved into her husband’s ancestral home of Eagle Pond Farm in New Hampshire, she felt out of place and removed from her own life. Kenyon expressed her emotions by publishing a book of poetry entitled, From Room to Room, in 1978. She felt “clumsy here, thrusting slabs of maple into the stove” as though the objects in this house were not her own and she was invading a different life. Kenyon compares her entry into this home to that of a wasp and its nest because they both “ seem unable to enter its own house”. Writing poetry was her salvation throughout her domestic life.
In addition to writing her own poetry, Kenyon translated the poems of Anna Akhmatova from Russian to English. Kenyon’s translated poems were compiled into a book of poetry entitled, Twenty Poems of Anna Akhmatova in 1985. Kenyon insisted that translation was an essential skill for all poets to attempt. Shortly after this time, Kenyon published the book of poetry, The Boat of Quiet Hours in 1986.
Throughout Kenyon’s poetry career, she attempted to explain the torments of depression to those who have never experienced it, while also reaching out to those who struggle to this day. Hinting at her depression, the book of poetry Let Evening Come, was published in 1990. However, sadness throughout her entire life is compiled into a single poem, “Having it Out With Melancholy”. The poem suggests that the possible source of her depression was her father, “You taught me to exist without gratitude/You ruined my manners towards God”. Kenyon states that medications such as “Elavil, Ludiomil, Doxepin, Norpramin, Prozac, Lithium, Xanax, Wellbutrin, Parnate, Nardil, Zoloft.” have helped her overcome some of her depression. This long list of drugs makes a statement to the reader of Kenyon’s severe condition. Most of her self-discovery about her depression takes place her book Constance, published in 1993. However, Kenyon offers some insight to her relief from depression when she writes about nature and new life.
Kenyon has been acclaimed by many critics and writers, despite her relatively small body of work. Essayist Gary Roberts states that Kenyon’s poetry was "acutely faithful to the familiarities and mysteries of home life, and it is distinguished by intense calmness in the face of routine disappointments and tragedies." Kenyon also won the PEN/Voelcker Award for Poetry in 1994. And now, may I present New Hampshire’s poet laureate, Jane Kenyon.
Word Count: 508