Flow Blue [Paperback]

Sarah Kennedy (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0970934254 | ISBN-13: 978-0970934253 | Publication Date: April 4, 2002

Poetry. FLOW BLUE by Sarah Kennedy was one of the winners of the Elixir Press Second Annual Poetry Awards. David Wojohn had this to say about it: "Sarah Kennedy's FLOW BLUE reminds us of the urgency and necessity of the autobiographical lyric. Harrowing as the tale the book relates may be, FLOW BLUE is always informed by a fluent and lyric grace and a deft formal precision, and displays a confidence and maturity of voice." Her work has appeared in such publications as Crab Orchard Review, Poem, and Sycamore Review.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Sarah Kennedy is the author of six books of poems, including Home Remedies and A Witch's Dictionary. She has received grants from the NEA and the Virginia Commission for the Arts and currently teaches at Mary Baldwin College.

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Elixir Press (April 4, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0970934254
• ISBN-13: 978-0970934253
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,036,634 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Poetry as therapy, but better than much of that genre, August 19, 2008

By 

Robert P. Beveridge "xterminal" (Lakewood, OH) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Flow Blue (Paperback)

Sarah Kennedy, Flow Blue (Elixir, 2002)

There can be no doubt that Sarah Kennedy is a fine poet. What keeps me from wholeheartedly recommending this collection, however, is the obsession aspect; when an entire collection pounds away at the same themes over and over and over again, it can get a little oppressive. But taken in small doses, this is fabulous stuff;

"He will never find me, curled here
under the last stalks of the garden. Let's go,
he yells, but I watch the bean-vines
braiding gold corn to tomatoes

and stay silent."
("Grounded")

I suggest getting your hands on a copy of this one and going through it, at most, one or two poems a day, leavening the reading with a number of other collections; this will go down easier. ***

5 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars New American Gothic, June 18, 2002

By 

K. Collins (Newtown, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Flow Blue (Paperback)

As a reader of poetry, I am struck not only by how well Flow Blue's poems weave themselves together, but how the poems themselves flow one into the next, weaving a dense tapestry of images and stories.

As a reader of fiction, I am struck by just how well these poems narrate the persona's journey from confused adolescence through to womanhood, reflecting back on childhood in a way that is both exotic and familiar. Reading each poem compels the reader to move forward into the next, building a life story in moments.

The persona herself embodies American womanhood in a way that echoes films like Smooth Talk and the end of Lolita, but without arrogance or malice. As she runs [or was she taken] from her strict parent's house at the behest of her sister and into her sister's husband's arms, she turns from a manipulated child to a mother and a woman who carves another life from her own.

I would recommend this book to lovers of poetry, I also think Flow Blue would make a great choice for someone who doesn't think or doesn't know s/he likes poetry. The constructions are strong, and the images are vivid without stretching the mind to grasp them, and the story sets up a strong narrative with accessible language that allows the reader to see the polarity between American beauty and American darkness.