Marian Kent

"responsive pleading" showcases Marian's many abilities first as a writer, and more specifically a poet. She has a distinct voice, a wonderfully raw and tender way of revealing the world to the reader. She is both reverent of and fearless with form, shaping her words and images with a firm and elegant hand.

This collection soars, exploring huge universal themes in personal and intimate ways. One can't help but be reminded that we are all things all the time: humans in the world, members of our communities, lovers, friends, parents, and children.

Here, in our four-poster, here,
gazing at the water-stained ceiling,
our untamed scent hangs in the air.
Here, beyond what night rains down on you,
until little feet patter down stairs
and little bodies press against ours.

Beyond all of that, tender moments,
each more fragile than the last,
fleeting, before the workday begins
with coffee, morning things, and my leave.
So fleeting, we must grasp this, look
it straight in the eye, and love it hard.

~ from aubade, responsive pleading pp. 89

I have been reading Marian Kent's blog, http://runawaysentence.com, for a few years, and have the privilege of calling her my friend, so it's a pleasure indeed to see her first collection of poetry come to print.… (més)