X. J. Kennedy
X. J. Kennedy
X. J. Kennedyis a poet, translator, anthologist, editor, and author of children's literature and textbooks on English literature and poetry. He was long known as Joe Kennedy; but, wishing to distinguish himself from Joseph P. Kennedy, he added an "X" as his first initial...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionPoet
Date of Birth21 August 1929
CityDover, NJ
CountryUnited States of America
cry laugh poems whether
I like poems where you don't really know whether to laugh or cry when you read them.
anybody poet producing
I don't think anybody is a poet 24/7, only in those rare moments when a person is producing a poem.
certain difference few films full pieces poem rhyme successful watching white
To me, a poem that's in rhyme and meter is the difference between watching a film in full color and watching a film in black and white. Not that a few black and white films aren't wonderful. So are certain successful pieces of free verse.
among analyzed attitude closely consider experts figure kids poetry suspected themselves
The attitude that poetry should not be analyzed is prevalent among many who consider themselves experts on children's literature. But I suspected that kids like to look closely at things and figure out what makes them go.
joe people
My real name is Joe Kennedy, but if you live in Massachusetts, you can't sign 'Joe Kennedy.' So, back in 1957, I stuck the X on my name to be different from those people in Hyannis Port.
given rhyme
As a writer given to the old formalities of rhyme and meter, I sometimes feel endangered these days.
purpose happenings
The Purpose of Time is to Prevent Everything from Happening at Once
air wind roots
I’d be glad to go out on a limb with those Who want nothing beyond what the wind bestows, Were I not bound to roots, dug in deep to bear Never being done grasping for light and air
girl carpe-diem white
Let you hold in mind, girls, that your beauty must pass Like a lovely white clover that rusts with its grass. Keep your bottoms off barstools and marry you young Or be left--an old barrel with many a bung.
fashion mistake writing
Poetry is probably the one field of writing in which it is a mistake to try to psych out editors. In fact, specific marketing advice can sometimes harm the novice poet by enticing him to pursue fashions. The poet's best hope is to sound like nobody else, The finest, most enduring poetry constructs a marketplace of its own.
two yellow boots
In thigh-high yellow leather boots Plump Saphonisba strides. Too bad that, just to hide her calves, Two calves have lost their hides.
fall faces ass
On solemn asses fall plush sinecures, So keep a straight face and sit tight on yours.
emotion endure
In poetry, only emotion endures.