Status
Available
Genres
Publication
New York : Hyperion, c2011.
Description
Fiction. Poetry. HTML: In She Walks in Beauty, Caroline Kennedy has once again marshaled the gifts of our greatest poets to pay a very personal tribute to the human experience, this time to the complex and fascinating subject of womanhood. Inspired by her own reflections on more than fifty years of life as a young girl, a woman, a wife, and a mother, She Walks in Beauty draws on poetry's eloquent wisdom to ponder the many joys and challenges of being a woman. Kennedy has divided the collection into sections that signify to her the most notable milestones, passages, and universal experiences in a woman's life, and she begins each of these sections with an introduction in which she explores and celebrates the most important elements of life's journey. The collection includes works by Elizabeth Bishop, Sharon Olds, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Mary Oliver, Pablo Neruda, W. H. Auden, Adrienne Rich, Sandra Cisneros, Anne Sexton, W. S. Merwin, Dorothy Parker, Queen Elizabeth I, Lucille Clifton, Naomi Shahib Nye, and W. B. Yeats. Whether it's falling in love, breaking up, friendship, marriage, motherhood, or growing old, She Walks in Beauty is a priceless resource for anyone, male or female, who wants a deeper understanding and appreciation of what it means to be a woman..… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member Carmenere
If I could, I would purchase this book for every woman that has ever come into my life. Divided into 13 parts and representing the many different stages in a woman’s life it is a collection of poetry which can be read in one sitting or referred to many times over. Sections include: Falling in
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love, Motherhood, Friendship, Growing Up and Growing Old, Solitude and Death and Grief. Some poems are humorous, others painful. Some thought provoking, others touching and perhaps will even bring you to tears. The emotions of life are captured from cover to cover. Included are old favorites that you may recognize and others are new and unfamiliar which my find a place in your heart. Ms. Kennedy writes short personal recollections at the start of each section which may offer amusement, comfort and camaraderie. Show Less
LibraryThing member detailmuse
I got this anthology as a gift and think it makes a great gift. Subtitled, “A Woman’s Journey Through Poems” its ~175 entries are written by a wide range of ancient philosophers and mystics to classic and contemporary poets, and organized into sections of: Falling in Love; Making Love;
Caroline Kennedy introduces each section, and her comments quite inspire a love and respect for poetry. While there aren’t “representative” poems to excerpt, here are two (of several dozen) I liked:
The Emperor by Matthew Rohrer
She sends me a text
she’s coming home
the train emerges
from underground
I light the fire under
the pot, I pour her
a glass of wine
I fold a napkin under
a little fork
the wind blows the rain
into the windows
the emperor himself
is not this happy
We know this much by Sappho
Death is an evil;
we have the gods’
word for it; they too
would die if death
were a good thing
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Breaking Up; Marriage; Love Itself; Work; Beauty, Clothes and Things of This World; Motherhood; Silence and Solitude; Growing Up and Growing Old; Death and Grief; Friendship; How to Live.Caroline Kennedy introduces each section, and her comments quite inspire a love and respect for poetry. While there aren’t “representative” poems to excerpt, here are two (of several dozen) I liked:
The Emperor by Matthew Rohrer
She sends me a text
she’s coming home
the train emerges
from underground
I light the fire under
the pot, I pour her
a glass of wine
I fold a napkin under
a little fork
the wind blows the rain
into the windows
the emperor himself
is not this happy
We know this much by Sappho
Death is an evil;
we have the gods’
word for it; they too
would die if death
were a good thing
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LibraryThing member the1butterfly
There are some poems in here I love, but mostly I don't connect with them overmuch. I suppose the disconnect might come from age- this is book calling to women from a women in her middle years, and I'm not in that place yet. I still connect most with high-concept poetry, and I want poems to astound
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me. Show Less
LibraryThing member LisMB
I am not much of a poetry reader. It is nice to have to read here and there, when in the mood.
LibraryThing member joyfiction
As a big poetry fan I was hoping this would turn out to be a nice anthology. It didn't let me down. Most of the poems inside of it were fantastic and that makes it quite enjoyable. The book fell into my lap and I'm glad it did. It was a nice addition to my collection of poetry books so I'm glad to
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have it. Show Less
LibraryThing member AnnieHidalgo
This book was really fun to review. Kennedy has picked poems from a wide variety of sources, some modern like Seamus Heaney, and some as old as Euripides. I found that some sections appealed to me more than others, but the book as a whole is a pleasure to read - with many poems that you'll want to
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quote later, and a few that are just funny. Show Less
LibraryThing member LeHack
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis' love of poetry and literature lives strong in her daughter. When I saw this in BN, I put down the book I had planned to purchase and brought this home instead.
She has selected poetry that apply to events in our lives. Some of the poems are well known classics, some are
Kennedy's other poetry anthologies are wonderful. This book does not disappoint.
She has selected poetry that apply to events in our lives. Some of the poems are well known classics, some are
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written by modern poets and less familiar. This is a wonderful collection, to be read silently or aloud. Kennedy's other poetry anthologies are wonderful. This book does not disappoint.
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LibraryThing member tututhefirst
When I was in catholic grade school, every year we had a small book entitled "Poems and Pictures". In Baltimore, we pronounced it "Poims and pichers" but the learning outcomes were the same no matter what we called the book. It was used to introduce us to the best and most memorable works of poetry
In she walks in beauty, Caroline Kennedy has given us a beautiful anthology of poems to illustrate the various phases of a woman's life.
Each section begins with an essay by the editor in which she gives us an insight into her choices of the poems included to illustrate that particular phase. Her essays are as inspiring as the poetry, and serve as a foundation to center the reader in the appropriate setting. Her choices of poems are broad, deep, eclectic, and delightful. There are excerpts from the Bible, sonnets from Shakespeare, poems from Greece, from medieval Europe, from modern America. There are poems that rhyme and poems that don't; there are short poems and long poems; there are poems I remember from the days of "Poims and pichers" and others I've never heard of.
I first got this book as an epub download from the public library. It was delightful to read in that format, but I knew almost instantly that I wanted my own copy so I could tuck pretty bookmarks, make margin notes, and otherwise make this book my own to be treasured, re-read, and eventually passed on to my daughter. I treated myself to a copy in Barnes and Noble last weekend while I was back in Baltimore. It's an exquisite book both in content and layout, especially for those of us who, while we may have been classically educated, didn't study poetry extensively -- I was a math major!!! It would make a perfect gift to any woman you love - mother, daughter, sister, wife, teacher, etc.
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and art, and was always one of my favorite subjects.In she walks in beauty, Caroline Kennedy has given us a beautiful anthology of poems to illustrate the various phases of a woman's life.
Each section begins with an essay by the editor in which she gives us an insight into her choices of the poems included to illustrate that particular phase. Her essays are as inspiring as the poetry, and serve as a foundation to center the reader in the appropriate setting. Her choices of poems are broad, deep, eclectic, and delightful. There are excerpts from the Bible, sonnets from Shakespeare, poems from Greece, from medieval Europe, from modern America. There are poems that rhyme and poems that don't; there are short poems and long poems; there are poems I remember from the days of "Poims and pichers" and others I've never heard of.
I first got this book as an epub download from the public library. It was delightful to read in that format, but I knew almost instantly that I wanted my own copy so I could tuck pretty bookmarks, make margin notes, and otherwise make this book my own to be treasured, re-read, and eventually passed on to my daughter. I treated myself to a copy in Barnes and Noble last weekend while I was back in Baltimore. It's an exquisite book both in content and layout, especially for those of us who, while we may have been classically educated, didn't study poetry extensively -- I was a math major!!! It would make a perfect gift to any woman you love - mother, daughter, sister, wife, teacher, etc.
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LibraryThing member Milda-TX
This is a lovely book of poetry for every stage in a woman's life. Enjoyed Ms. Kennedy's introductions to each section - found them warm and inviting.
LibraryThing member dgmlrhodes
This book was a complete surprise for me in more ways than one! I am genrally not a fan of poetry, but this book contains many beautiful poems about being a woman and our experiences. There are many that I have marked and will now keep close to me.
LibraryThing member AshRyan
A decent collection of poems, organized around some major aspects of a woman's life. Obviously there are major sections devoted to love and beauty, but also some interesting ones such as materialism and feminine vanity, and work (unfortunately, most of the poems in this section aren't very good).
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There were some poems I didn't already know that I enjoyed very much, such as "Love" by Roy Croft. The juxtaposition of the work of great poets like Shelley, Byron, and Browning with crap by people like Gertrude Stein and Dorothy Parker is a bit jarring at times, and the readers, though not terrible, aren't particularly good either. Show Less
LibraryThing member JudyCroome
I nearly did not buy this collection of poems - I have issues with publisher's exploiting celebrity names to sell books (and the Kennedy name is about as "celebrity" as you can get, even to a non-American!), but I'm glad I did! While at times the introductory notes were too maudlin (and, at times,
From the short, deeply profound words of Rumi & La Tzu, to the magnificent "The Summer Day" by Mary Oliver; from old favourites (How do I love thee?) to new discoveries (Letter from my Wife), this beautiful collection has something for every mood. It also held some surprises - who knew Elizabeth 1 wrote poetry?!
Particularly appealing was the well-constructed lay-out, consisting of sections each containing a variety of poetic voices speaking about different times/events in a woman's life (love, marriage, death, grief and so on).
A volume of poetry that can be dipped into again and again.
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slipped into condescension), this ended up being a wonderful collection of poetry to relax with. From the short, deeply profound words of Rumi & La Tzu, to the magnificent "The Summer Day" by Mary Oliver; from old favourites (How do I love thee?) to new discoveries (Letter from my Wife), this beautiful collection has something for every mood. It also held some surprises - who knew Elizabeth 1 wrote poetry?!
Particularly appealing was the well-constructed lay-out, consisting of sections each containing a variety of poetic voices speaking about different times/events in a woman's life (love, marriage, death, grief and so on).
A volume of poetry that can be dipped into again and again.
Show Less
LibraryThing member ValerieAndBooks
When Borders was (unfortunately) undergoing their going-out-of business liquidation sale a few years back, I purchased She Walks in Beauty: A Woman's Journey Through Poems, an anthology compiled by Caroline Kennedy, at a deep discount. I've glanced through it occasionally since, but recently I made
Some people may question anything that the Kennedys have published, and that would include me -- I admit I wondered whether this anthology was going to be good. It is. This volume has substance, and is certainly not an attempt to coast on the Kennedy name.
The poems are organized by chapters; each chapter has an introduction penned by Kennedy. Chapter titles are:
--Falling in Love
--Making Love
--Breaking Up
--Marriage
--Work
--Beauty, Clothes, and Things of this World
--Motherhood
--Silence and Solitude
--Growing Up and Growing Old
--Death
--Friendship
--How to Live
As you can see, there is a wide-range of topics, meant to cover various stages of a woman's life. The choice of poets is also wide-ranging in style and time periods.
Of course, not every poem here is going to speak to every one. One that doesn't touch me now might in a few years. This could probably be said of any collection of poems, true; but I think this volume is one that's worth having.
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a resolution to start reading poetry more often again, and this was one of the first volumes I took off my shelves. I'm glad I chose this one to get back into the habit of reading poetry. Some people may question anything that the Kennedys have published, and that would include me -- I admit I wondered whether this anthology was going to be good. It is. This volume has substance, and is certainly not an attempt to coast on the Kennedy name.
The poems are organized by chapters; each chapter has an introduction penned by Kennedy. Chapter titles are:
--Falling in Love
--Making Love
--Breaking Up
--Marriage
--Work
--Beauty, Clothes, and Things of this World
--Motherhood
--Silence and Solitude
--Growing Up and Growing Old
--Death
--Friendship
--How to Live
As you can see, there is a wide-range of topics, meant to cover various stages of a woman's life. The choice of poets is also wide-ranging in style and time periods.
Of course, not every poem here is going to speak to every one. One that doesn't touch me now might in a few years. This could probably be said of any collection of poems, true; but I think this volume is one that's worth having.
Show Less
LibraryThing member mirikayla
After the first few, I started skipping Caroline Kennedy's introductions because they were kind of pointless. But I loved the vast majority of the poems, and I love that I loved them, because—not for lack of exposure, and with a few exceptions—I have never really enjoyed poetry. I also am not
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especially into flowers, but the beautiful black-and-white close-ups were so lovely (anyone know what kind of flower they are?). Show Less
LibraryThing member porch_reader
Caroline Kennedy received poems from three friends on her fiftieth birthday. This led to the realization that poetry can play an important role in many seasons of our lives - from love to loss. This anthology is organized into sections based on major life events, such as falling in love,
But others were new to me. And life Kennedy, the ones that resonated most illuminated the things that I am currently dealing with myself. I recently helped my mother sort through her belongings before her move to Iowa and then sorting through them again a few short weeks later after her unexpected death. My angst in deciding what to keep and what to get rid of is captured perfectly in the last stanza of Maxine Scates's poem, "Mother's Closet."
She wants to leave so much behind. Hours later
I've found nothing I want but the purple mache mask
I made in the fourth grade. I like its yellow eyes.
She looks at each magazine I remove, saving
every word about my brother, the coach. He's sixty
and a long dead mouse has eaten the laces
of his baby shoes. I want order. I say
I'm old myself, I've started throwing things away.
I'm lying. I've kept everything she's ever given me.
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motherhood, growing up and growing old, work, friendship, death and grief. Some poems were familiar. "May Today There Be Peach Within" by St. Teresa of Avila is one of my favorites. But others were new to me. And life Kennedy, the ones that resonated most illuminated the things that I am currently dealing with myself. I recently helped my mother sort through her belongings before her move to Iowa and then sorting through them again a few short weeks later after her unexpected death. My angst in deciding what to keep and what to get rid of is captured perfectly in the last stanza of Maxine Scates's poem, "Mother's Closet."
She wants to leave so much behind. Hours later
I've found nothing I want but the purple mache mask
I made in the fourth grade. I like its yellow eyes.
She looks at each magazine I remove, saving
every word about my brother, the coach. He's sixty
and a long dead mouse has eaten the laces
of his baby shoes. I want order. I say
I'm old myself, I've started throwing things away.
I'm lying. I've kept everything she's ever given me.
Show Less
LibraryThing member meganreads
I have to be honest: had it not fallen into my hands by chance, I probably never would have picked this book up at first glance. I mean come on, I do appreciate poetry, but an anthology compiled by (with all due respect) a celebrity and allegedly chronicling a "woman's journey"? Ick. I'd rather eat
But again, I have to be honest: I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Caroline Kennedy has selected a broad range of poetry from diverse time periods and cultures, arranging poems by theme and occasion. Her light, friendly interludes between each section contextualize the selections in a manner that is neither pedantic nor trivial, but rather grounded in real-life anecdotes and familiar experiences that provide meaningful breaks between each section. It makes this moderate-length volume readable for those who prefer linear progression as opposed to the "flip-and-skim" method often used to browse books of poetry.
This anthology did me the service of prompting me to re-read poems I recall analyzing to death in high school and college; this fresh perspective gave me a new appreciation for them. It also introduced me to several newer poets whose work stands its ground in the shadows of the poetic cannon -- seeing several perspectives on the same theme helped display the universality of experiences every woman (and, in many cases, every man) experiences.
*This review is of a non-corrected proof from the publisher, who specified that quotes should not be published until the book is officially "out." Otherwise I'd comment on specific poems/commentary. :)
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a bowl of pure sugar with a pitcher of undiluted fruit punch concentrate to wash it down. But again, I have to be honest: I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Caroline Kennedy has selected a broad range of poetry from diverse time periods and cultures, arranging poems by theme and occasion. Her light, friendly interludes between each section contextualize the selections in a manner that is neither pedantic nor trivial, but rather grounded in real-life anecdotes and familiar experiences that provide meaningful breaks between each section. It makes this moderate-length volume readable for those who prefer linear progression as opposed to the "flip-and-skim" method often used to browse books of poetry.
This anthology did me the service of prompting me to re-read poems I recall analyzing to death in high school and college; this fresh perspective gave me a new appreciation for them. It also introduced me to several newer poets whose work stands its ground in the shadows of the poetic cannon -- seeing several perspectives on the same theme helped display the universality of experiences every woman (and, in many cases, every man) experiences.
*This review is of a non-corrected proof from the publisher, who specified that quotes should not be published until the book is officially "out." Otherwise I'd comment on specific poems/commentary. :)
Show Less