Pick of the Week: The Taste of River Water

| Bendigo Weekly | 19-May-2011 5pm

«
»
Courage is a good thing for a writer, so long as it’s matched with skill. 

It’s courage that characterises the writing of Cate Kennedy, and she definitely matches it with the necessary skill.

 In her new collection of poems, beautifully presented by Melbourne-based Scribe publishers, Kennedy goes daringly close to the line of sentiment, but almost always keeps on the right side.

 Early in the collection, you may find yourself thinking that this excellent short-story writer is simply writing prose poems. But gradually, the careful rhythm of her understated poems becomes evident.

 Conversational and everyday they may seem, but the sound of these lilting lines is honed to match the meaning.

 Do poems always have to be true? You’ll be forced to confront this question as you move from narratives that may be fictional (like “Locusts arrive in the city”) to the nub of this collection, when the stillbirth of a baby is described with staccato anguish.

Tough to get the tone right in such a poem, and Kennedy does it with class.

 For central Victorian readers, there’s an added pleasure of claiming this writer as one of our own. Kennedy is now one of the most important writers working in Australia today.

 – Rosemary Sorensen
To read a poem from The Taste of River Water by Cate Kennedy, go to www.bendigoweekly.com.au/book-club.  Also online, this week’s Top Ten, supplied by Dymocks Bendigo.
More Exposure

Comment





Captcha Image