The Evolution of the Flightless Bird

By Richard Kenney

Book Overview

Richard Kenney's The Evolution of the Flightless Bird, the winning volume in the 1983 Yale Series of Younger Poets competition, was selected from among 650 entries in this annual competition. All of one species whose origin is the sonnet, Kenney's poems ring many changes through that form, reflecting, as they do, a personal evolution in the poet's life. "The Hours of the Day"--the first of four chapters--is a long meditative sequence set in Vermont; here the square-shaped poems become the crown glass windowpanes of the farmhouse itself. "First Poems" follows next, a group of eight lyrics, ending with the poem that titles the book. "Heroes," a narrative quartet, with two poems from history and two from life, concerns itself with the shaping of all tales, from source to first telling. Finally, "Notes from Greece" chronicles certain thoughts and adventures there, notably a visit to the Byzantine monastic communities that ring the peninsula of Mt. Athos. Born in Glens Falls, New York, in 1948, Richard Kenney received his B.A. from Dartmouth College in 1970. His poems have appeared in numerous magazines, including The New Yorker, The Atlantic Monthly, Hudson Review, American Scholar, Poetry, The Yale Review, Carolina Quarterly, and New England Review.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0300031521
• ISBN13: 9780300031522
• Release Date: September 1984
• Publisher: Yale University Press
• Length: 84 Pages
• Weight: 0.31 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 6.2" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Richard Kenney At Bennington 1985

After attending a reading of Richard Kenney at Bennington in 1985 I fell in love with his work and poetry. He was a gentleman with a rural air who moved the crowd but like Al Gore had a distance that was slightly cold. He delves deep into science and history in his poems. In my instruction manual on poetry I have a section under processes; by describing processes poets enrich their lines and can allude to their own work with more force than usual. Processes stir the mind more than most descriptions. Think of the process of beauty aging; the movie that deals with that theme would not be glam, it would have substance. Richard Kenney's poems are rich in processes of the universe and of the organic world. There are many unwritten works that he should write. Imagine finding out how a brewery makes beer while following around a brewery drunken romantics who stare into the stars and see what's going on in the cosmos as they kiss. Richard Kenney would be the poet to write that book. This book, however, tends to be too scientific, there is too much of the mind, not enough of the more mysterious working of the heart. That's probably why this book is out of print. With an editor or a sensual collaborator Richard Kenney could write the work of the century.This is a great read anyway, especially for poets who are temporarily tired of the 20th century masters. Just surf the web while being dazzled by his poetic creations and the book will pay for itself in the process of revelation.