In this Book
- The New and Collected Poems of Jane Gentry
- Book
- 2017
- Published by: The University Press of Kentucky
Jane Gentry (1941–2014) possessed an uncanny ability to spin quietly expansive and wise verses from small details, objects, and remembered moments. The hallmarks of her work are insight into nature, faith, the quotidian, and—perhaps most prominently—the grounding of her home and family in the state of Kentucky. This innovative poet and critic was for many years one of the animating spirits of literary life in the region.
Gentry and her daughters collaborated with editor Julia Johnson to organize this definitive collection. The result is an important literary anthology that assembles Gentry's most celebrated poems alongside new, previously unpublished works. Johnson uses Gentry's own methodology to arrange the poems in sequences comparable to those found in her previous collections. This organization showcases the range of the poet's work and the flexibility of her style, which is sometimes ironic and humorous; sometimes poignant; but always clear, intelligent, and revelatory.
This volume includes two full-length collections of poetry in their entirety—A Garden in Kentucky and Portrait of the Artist as a White Pig. The final section features Gentry's unpublished work, bringing together her early poems, verses written for loved ones, and a large group of more recent work that may have been intended for future collections. Alternately startling and heart-wrenching, The New and Collected Poems of Jane Gentry offers a valuable retrospective of the celebrated poet's work.
Table of Contents
- Title Page, Copyright Page
- pp. iii-iv
- Introduction
- pp. xvii-xxiv
- Book: A Garden in Kentucky
- pp. 1-2
- A Garden in Kentucky
- pp. 5-6
- Maugie’s Heaven
- p. 10
- The Old Place, 1949
- pp. 14-15
- For My Father
- pp. 18-21
- Snow in the Cemetery
- p. 23
- My Mother’s Clothes
- p. 24
- A Moment in the Dark
- p. 32
- Your Vacation
- p. 42
- Susannah’s Bones
- p. 46
- Leaving Lucy, September, 1990
- pp. 50-51
- In the Darkness
- p. 63
- By the Sea: The Dream of the Body
- pp. 64-65
- Epiphany, 1992
- p. 66
- On a Perfect Day
- p. 69
- The Locust
- p. 78
- Hungry Fire
- pp. 80-86
- A Human House
- pp. 91-92
- From my Attic Window
- p. 97
- Waking Up, in May
- p. 99
- Diana, of a Certain Age, Takes a Bath
- pp. 103-104
- The Song of the Furnace
- p. 105
- Sam’s Club in Winter
- p. 108
- Hunting for a Christmas Tree after Dark
- pp. 109-110
- My Life Story
- pp. 113-114
- The Red Taffeta Dress
- p. 116
- My Mother’s Rooms
- pp. 118-119
- Leaving the Shades Up
- p. 120
- Ultrasound
- p. 121
- Your Company
- p. 127
- The Reading Lamp
- pp. 129-130
- One Summer in the Life of My Mother
- pp. 134-140
- At Pleasant Hill, Kentucky, in January
- pp. 144-145
- Taking the Train from Maysville to New York
- pp. 146-147
- Utopia: An Idyll
- pp. 149-150
- Rose Week in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden
- pp. 151-152
- Nike of Samothrace
- pp. 155-156
- The Clouds, My Mother
- p. 160
- Watching Stars
- p. 161
- First Kiss
- p. 163
- April in Your Garden
- p. 164
- By Your Small Lake
- p. 166
- At Harmony Landing
- p. 167
- Penelope’s Night Out
- p. 168
- Sleeping with You
- p. 169
- The Traveler
- pp. 170-171
- The Chain: A True Account
- pp. 172-182
- Late Poems
- pp. 183-184
- Train Window
- pp. 187-189
- In October
- p. 190
- Winter Moon
- p. 192
- November Wind
- p. 194
- Iddy Romps
- p. 195
- Out of Season
- p. 197
- Bird and Bear
- pp. 201-202
- March Wind
- p. 205
- Letters for Butterfly
- pp. 206-221
- NIght Snow
- p. 222
- Honeysuckle
- p. 224
- The Cattle Man
- pp. 225-226
- Diana of Times Square
- p. 229
- Fall of the Year
- pp. 230-231
- The Duties of the Old
- pp. 232-233
- My Made Bed
- p. 234
- Eve in the Orchard
- p. 235
- Indiana Shoot-out
- p. 236
- My Tin Ear
- p. 238
- HE’s Off to the MLA
- p. 240
- My First Friends
- p. 241
- Landing in Atlanta
- p. 242
- Abraham Lincoln in Kentucky
- pp. 243-245
- At Peterson’s Boarding House
- pp. 248-250
- Memorial Day 2010
- pp. 251-252
- Night Beasts in the Backyard
- pp. 253-254
- Outside Eden
- pp. 256-257
- Mary Daniel
- p. 258
- May Weather
- p. 261
- The Berry Bowls
- p. 262
- After Sundown
- p. 264
- The Blessing
- pp. 266-267
- My Screensaver
- pp. 269-270
- Intensive Care, Oncology
- p. 271
- Why Marriage Works
- p. 272
- At Auction, July 3, 1970
- pp. 277-278
- Andy’s Breath
- pp. 281-282
- Disappointing the Dead
- pp. 284-285
- A Nap in Summer
- p. 286
- Acknowledgments
- pp. 289-290
- Title Index
- pp. 291-296
- Index of First Lines
- pp. 297-302
Additional Information
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2021