September 8th, 2009 / 12:41 pm
Author Spotlight

Chris Tonelli on Ellen Kennedy, at Open Letters Monthly

3140965108_6363f67db4-212x300After the epic fail that was Matt Soucy’s lazy, mean-spirited review in Coldfront–a rare blunder for one of the best poetry sites out there–it brings me enormous pleasure to direct your attention to Chris Tonelli’s excellent microreview of sometimes my heart pushes my ribs, newly online at Open Letters Monthly.

In personal or private moments, like the one above, Kennedy’s speakers relentlessly exhibit a kind of binary—ones and zeros—type honesty. They actually have the kinds of conversations we only have in our heads. For this reason, at least under Kennedy’s spell, Sometimes My Heart Pushes My Ribs feels like one of the purest examples of how to be good to one another, a contemporary collection of first-person parables.

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92 Comments

  1. john sakkis

      “epic fail”

      how come?

  2. john sakkis

      “epic fail”

      how come?

  3. Matt Cozart

      did you read that review?

  4. Matt Cozart

      did you read that review?

  5. john sakkis

      yeah.

  6. john sakkis

      yeah.

  7. Kathleen Rooney
  8. Kathleen Rooney
  9. david miller
  10. david miller
  11. Henry Knuckles

      kennedy blows. Great review at coldfrontmag.

  12. Henry Knuckles

      kennedy blows. Great review at coldfrontmag.

  13. Janey Smith

      For the record, I liked Kennedy’s book for the same reason’s Soucy hated it.

  14. Janey Smith

      For the record, I liked Kennedy’s book for the same reason’s Soucy hated it.

  15. Muumuu House
  16. Muumuu House
  17. Catherine Lacey

      The Coldfront review was pretty mean but I think it was honest. The other day when Blake posted something like “it’s not ok to like everything.” I think it’s completely ok to write a very unfavorable review. You probably think that too, right Justin?

  18. Catherine Lacey

      The Coldfront review was pretty mean but I think it was honest. The other day when Blake posted something like “it’s not ok to like everything.” I think it’s completely ok to write a very unfavorable review. You probably think that too, right Justin?

  19. Catherine Lacey

      That’s good. I think that review was honest.

  20. Catherine Lacey

      That’s good. I think that review was honest.

  21. john sakkis

      i’m with catherine…

      what was an epic failure? how? it’s an unfavorable review sure, but i’m not getting why justin thinks it’s a failure…

  22. john sakkis

      i’m with catherine…

      what was an epic failure? how? it’s an unfavorable review sure, but i’m not getting why justin thinks it’s a failure…

  23. Matt Cozart

      An opinion can be honest and still be wrong, or based on dumb ideas. Glenn Beck is undoubtedly being honest when he expresses his idiotic opinions, but, you know.

  24. Matt Cozart

      An opinion can be honest and still be wrong, or based on dumb ideas. Glenn Beck is undoubtedly being honest when he expresses his idiotic opinions, but, you know.

  25. D

      Did Kennedy publish many of these poems in journals before Muumuu house put it out? The Coldfront review mad me wonder that…

  26. D

      Did Kennedy publish many of these poems in journals before Muumuu house put it out? The Coldfront review mad me wonder that…

  27. steven

      I think the review on Coldfront is honest too, however, I think the reviewer should back up his criticism by actually using direct quotes from the text. I get that he hated the book and found it torturous, but its a reviewer responsibility to reread the text and show by examples. I thought he did a lot of talking and little showing.

      D-

      The book doesn’t have an acknowledgment page so I’m assuming not a single poem appeared in a journal- but does it matter? According to the reviewer it does, but what do y’all think?

  28. steven

      I think the review on Coldfront is honest too, however, I think the reviewer should back up his criticism by actually using direct quotes from the text. I get that he hated the book and found it torturous, but its a reviewer responsibility to reread the text and show by examples. I thought he did a lot of talking and little showing.

      D-

      The book doesn’t have an acknowledgment page so I’m assuming not a single poem appeared in a journal- but does it matter? According to the reviewer it does, but what do y’all think?

  29. john sakkis

      steven,

      for what it’s worth i don’t think it matters much if the work has appeared elsewhere before becoming a book…i have a book coming out on post-apollo in a few months…didn’t appear anywhere else before being accepted…i think what people might be concerned (?) about re: kenney’s book is nepotism. but the book sold well so whatever…but did the book sell well because of lin, or because of the work? seems like that’s what the cold front review might be getting at…which i think is valid.

  30. Muumuu House

      Poems from Ellen Kennedy’s book were previously published in, among other venues, the following venues: Mipoesias, Juked, 3:AM Magazine, 2nd Ave Poetry, Melancholia’s Tremulous dreadlocks.

      Poems and work not included in her Muumuu House book had been published in the following venues: Elimae, Bear Parade, Luna Negra, Alice Blue Review, The 2nd Hand.

      This is not a complete list.

  31. john sakkis

      steven,

      for what it’s worth i don’t think it matters much if the work has appeared elsewhere before becoming a book…i have a book coming out on post-apollo in a few months…didn’t appear anywhere else before being accepted…i think what people might be concerned (?) about re: kenney’s book is nepotism. but the book sold well so whatever…but did the book sell well because of lin, or because of the work? seems like that’s what the cold front review might be getting at…which i think is valid.

  32. Muumuu House

      Poems from Ellen Kennedy’s book were previously published in, among other venues, the following venues: Mipoesias, Juked, 3:AM Magazine, 2nd Ave Poetry, Melancholia’s Tremulous dreadlocks.

      Poems and work not included in her Muumuu House book had been published in the following venues: Elimae, Bear Parade, Luna Negra, Alice Blue Review, The 2nd Hand.

      This is not a complete list.

  33. D

      A book of stories or poems not previously published anywhere would give me a lot of hesitation for a lot of reasons, but this appears to not be the case here anyway (see Muumuu’s post above)

  34. D

      A book of stories or poems not previously published anywhere would give me a lot of hesitation for a lot of reasons, but this appears to not be the case here anyway (see Muumuu’s post above)

  35. Cuauhtémoc Cortés Corrado

      ” I think it’s completely ok to write a very unfavorable review.”

      It is a sign of your generation that someone, presumably literary, considers this something to voice her opinion on.

      Now that writers like Kennedy, and more so, her Svengali, are getting some disinterested reviewers not part of your little tribe, they are getting “unfavorable” reviews like normal writers always have. (See the devastating ones of the Shoplifting book on Bookslut and Anthem that Lin, to his credit, posted links to on his blog today.)

      What was not normal was getting reviews from your friends. This is healthier. In the old days it was considered unethical to review your friends. Of course that was for real publications, not your little self-produced blogs. I understand you need some reviews, but it’s good to see reviews of these writers by people they don’t Gmail chat or eat vegan chow with every other day.

  36. Cuauhtémoc Cortés Corrado

      ” I think it’s completely ok to write a very unfavorable review.”

      It is a sign of your generation that someone, presumably literary, considers this something to voice her opinion on.

      Now that writers like Kennedy, and more so, her Svengali, are getting some disinterested reviewers not part of your little tribe, they are getting “unfavorable” reviews like normal writers always have. (See the devastating ones of the Shoplifting book on Bookslut and Anthem that Lin, to his credit, posted links to on his blog today.)

      What was not normal was getting reviews from your friends. This is healthier. In the old days it was considered unethical to review your friends. Of course that was for real publications, not your little self-produced blogs. I understand you need some reviews, but it’s good to see reviews of these writers by people they don’t Gmail chat or eat vegan chow with every other day.

  37. Cuauhtémoc Cortés Corrado

      Justin, you little vontz, what exactly is your relationship with Kennedy?

      It’s nice to defend your friends, but in real publications — you’ve published in some, like The Believer and are generally a good writer — presumably you’d be asked to provide “full disclosure” on a writer/subject you were selected to write about/review.

      Of course you can post here any time you damn feel like it. (We can comment here the same way, so I guess fair’s fair). But your relationship with Kennedy (my own assumption is that you’re a protective friend to a vulnerable young woman, which is entirely admirable outside this context) makes you the wrong person to characterize a bad review of her book.

      You’re at RUTGERS, after all!

  38. Cuauhtémoc Cortés Corrado

      Justin, you little vontz, what exactly is your relationship with Kennedy?

      It’s nice to defend your friends, but in real publications — you’ve published in some, like The Believer and are generally a good writer — presumably you’d be asked to provide “full disclosure” on a writer/subject you were selected to write about/review.

      Of course you can post here any time you damn feel like it. (We can comment here the same way, so I guess fair’s fair). But your relationship with Kennedy (my own assumption is that you’re a protective friend to a vulnerable young woman, which is entirely admirable outside this context) makes you the wrong person to characterize a bad review of her book.

      You’re at RUTGERS, after all!

  39. Ryan Call

      ‘I usually use quotes in my reviews but I won’t be doing so here because it would require opening the book again.’

  40. Ryan Call

      ‘I usually use quotes in my reviews but I won’t be doing so here because it would require opening the book again.’

  41. Nathan Tyree

      I’m not so sure that beck is being honest. He’s a panderer and asshat

  42. Nathan Tyree

      I’m not so sure that beck is being honest. He’s a panderer and asshat

  43. mike

      I think this reviewer is ‘funnier’ than tao lin’s ‘blog’ so i am inclined to ‘not hate it’

  44. mike

      I think this reviewer is ‘funnier’ than tao lin’s ‘blog’ so i am inclined to ‘not hate it’

  45. Nathan (Nate) Tyree

      I felt like it needed more editing. It was 1/2 genius, 1/2 weak. That’s my honest opinion. This reviewer was being honest, but too harsh. It isn’t okay to ‘like everything’ nor is it okay to go soft on a book that you hated, but… there’s no need to be mean. You can pull punches a little. When reviewing non-famous writers, I do tend to look for the thing that is laudable in the book I disliked. If there is nothing good to say, I tend to remain mum. Even my negative reviews (of non stars) tend to have something constructive to say.

      That’s just me, though.

  46. Nathan (Nate) Tyree

      I felt like it needed more editing. It was 1/2 genius, 1/2 weak. That’s my honest opinion. This reviewer was being honest, but too harsh. It isn’t okay to ‘like everything’ nor is it okay to go soft on a book that you hated, but… there’s no need to be mean. You can pull punches a little. When reviewing non-famous writers, I do tend to look for the thing that is laudable in the book I disliked. If there is nothing good to say, I tend to remain mum. Even my negative reviews (of non stars) tend to have something constructive to say.

      That’s just me, though.

  47. Nathan (Nate) Tyree

      That’s funny

  48. Nathan (Nate) Tyree

      That’s funny

  49. steven

      john sakkis-

      Yeah, I don’t think it matters whether the poems were published or not, but it looks like the book just doesn’t have an acknowledgment page- sorry for the misinformation. I think you’re right about what the reviewer is getting at. I think it’s just one of those books that you either love or hate.

      Oh, and looking forward to reading your book when it comes out.

      Ryan,

      Your comment cracked me up!

  50. steven

      john sakkis-

      Yeah, I don’t think it matters whether the poems were published or not, but it looks like the book just doesn’t have an acknowledgment page- sorry for the misinformation. I think you’re right about what the reviewer is getting at. I think it’s just one of those books that you either love or hate.

      Oh, and looking forward to reading your book when it comes out.

      Ryan,

      Your comment cracked me up!

  51. Zip

      VOICE OF REASON

  52. Zip

      VOICE OF REASON

  53. Justin Taylor

      Hey, CCC, go fuck yourself. I’ve had it up to hear with your weird way of addressing me. little vontz? Seriously dude, go creep somebody else out.

  54. Justin Taylor

      Hey, CCC, go fuck yourself. I’ve had it up to hear with your weird way of addressing me. little vontz? Seriously dude, go creep somebody else out.

  55. Justin Taylor

      Steven, et al- the review is bad because it’s bad, not because it’s negative. If you want a great and totally relevant counter-example, see Kati Nolfi’s review of Tao’s novella in the current Bookslut. She really, really, really hated a book that I liked a lot, but her review is thorough, engaged and very smart. In fact, I’m going to link it in a post later, probably, because it’s really worth reading.

  56. Justin Taylor

      Steven, et al- the review is bad because it’s bad, not because it’s negative. If you want a great and totally relevant counter-example, see Kati Nolfi’s review of Tao’s novella in the current Bookslut. She really, really, really hated a book that I liked a lot, but her review is thorough, engaged and very smart. In fact, I’m going to link it in a post later, probably, because it’s really worth reading.

  57. Chris Tonelli

      the review over at coldfront was dismissive in a crotchety way. i mean in tone. as if there is no way something like kennedy’s book could even considered art. i mean, you could prolly quote something smart from the review, but overall, i don’t think the reviewer was open to even considering kennedy’s work. like my mom looking at duchamp and going, “but he just hung a urinal on the wall.”

      what “real publications” require disclosure. i mean, you’ve heard of whitman, right? he reviewed himself for chrissakes. poetry has a long history of building communities who start presses and publish one another, not just because their friends, but because they love each others work. i can’t believe i even had to say that.

  58. Chris Tonelli

      the review over at coldfront was dismissive in a crotchety way. i mean in tone. as if there is no way something like kennedy’s book could even considered art. i mean, you could prolly quote something smart from the review, but overall, i don’t think the reviewer was open to even considering kennedy’s work. like my mom looking at duchamp and going, “but he just hung a urinal on the wall.”

      what “real publications” require disclosure. i mean, you’ve heard of whitman, right? he reviewed himself for chrissakes. poetry has a long history of building communities who start presses and publish one another, not just because their friends, but because they love each others work. i can’t believe i even had to say that.

  59. Justin Taylor

      Yes, and the truth is that as far as disclosures go, the one to be made is not about Ellen–a person I admire very much, but know in “real life” only in a very limited way. I wish I knew her better, frankly, but them’s the breaks. If you want a disclosure, how about the fact that I went to grad school with John Deming, Graeme Bezanson and Melinda Wilson–the three heads of Coldfrontmag.com. I’ve known them for years, and spent oodles more time with them than I ever have (or probably ever will) with Ellen Kennedy. Does this affect anyone’s reading of my calling them out about Soucy’s review? Does it maybe explain why I bothered to fold a compliment into the middle of that critique? Or is it possible, just maybe, that these facts have NOTHING to do with the issue at hand, which is emphatically NOT about who knows who (Ellen Kennedy is friends with Tao Lin! Have you heard?) but is about what makes (or doesn’t make) for useful criticism.

      Also, full disclosure- John and Melinda are DATING. Have been for years. They even live together, so I bet they’ve seen each other naked. And yet they run a poetry criticism website! Together! How inside baseball is that shit?

  60. Justin Taylor

      Yes, and the truth is that as far as disclosures go, the one to be made is not about Ellen–a person I admire very much, but know in “real life” only in a very limited way. I wish I knew her better, frankly, but them’s the breaks. If you want a disclosure, how about the fact that I went to grad school with John Deming, Graeme Bezanson and Melinda Wilson–the three heads of Coldfrontmag.com. I’ve known them for years, and spent oodles more time with them than I ever have (or probably ever will) with Ellen Kennedy. Does this affect anyone’s reading of my calling them out about Soucy’s review? Does it maybe explain why I bothered to fold a compliment into the middle of that critique? Or is it possible, just maybe, that these facts have NOTHING to do with the issue at hand, which is emphatically NOT about who knows who (Ellen Kennedy is friends with Tao Lin! Have you heard?) but is about what makes (or doesn’t make) for useful criticism.

      Also, full disclosure- John and Melinda are DATING. Have been for years. They even live together, so I bet they’ve seen each other naked. And yet they run a poetry criticism website! Together! How inside baseball is that shit?

  61. Matt Cozart

      The old days? Which old days are those? In the old days Walt Whitman wrote reviews of Walt Whitman under false names. In the old days Ezra Pound reviewed T.S. Eliot. In the old days Shelley reviewed Keats (not that they were friends exactly, but they knew each other).

  62. Matt Cozart

      The old days? Which old days are those? In the old days Walt Whitman wrote reviews of Walt Whitman under false names. In the old days Ezra Pound reviewed T.S. Eliot. In the old days Shelley reviewed Keats (not that they were friends exactly, but they knew each other).

  63. Matt Cozart

      L’il Vontz sounds like the name of a comic strip character circa 1910.

  64. Matt Cozart

      L’il Vontz sounds like the name of a comic strip character circa 1910.

  65. Matt Cozart

      Why should a review concern itself with book sales at all? That’s extraliterary, gossipy stuff.

  66. Matt Cozart

      Why should a review concern itself with book sales at all? That’s extraliterary, gossipy stuff.

  67. david erlewine

      CCC, please enlighten us. Where does “little vontz” come from? It does sound like a comic strip character before WWI or perhaps a Yiddish term. I’m confused and curious.

      I do agree with Justin that it’s creepy.

  68. david erlewine

      CCC, please enlighten us. Where does “little vontz” come from? It does sound like a comic strip character before WWI or perhaps a Yiddish term. I’m confused and curious.

      I do agree with Justin that it’s creepy.

  69. Matt Cozart
  70. Matt Cozart
  71. david erlewine

      ha! i saw that link too. i’m intrigued.

  72. david erlewine

      ha! i saw that link too. i’m intrigued.

  73. Craig Snyder

      The reviewer at Coldfront certainly expressed some very strong emotions about Ellen’s book. I think there is some good sarcastic writing in the review but yes I found it unnecessarily harsh. The worst thing about the review is the TYPOGRAPHY. If you are going to use Times New Roman you ought to allow for a little more LINE-HEIGHT and larger PARAGRAPH MARGINS.

      Also, the title you see when mouse hovering the graphic of her book cover is “kennedy ellen cover” which is only marginally coherent.

  74. Craig Snyder

      The reviewer at Coldfront certainly expressed some very strong emotions about Ellen’s book. I think there is some good sarcastic writing in the review but yes I found it unnecessarily harsh. The worst thing about the review is the TYPOGRAPHY. If you are going to use Times New Roman you ought to allow for a little more LINE-HEIGHT and larger PARAGRAPH MARGINS.

      Also, the title you see when mouse hovering the graphic of her book cover is “kennedy ellen cover” which is only marginally coherent.

  75. sarah m.g.

      I found the Coldfront review miles more entertaining for it’s rabiditiy than the Tonelli, but nothing about it formed any kind of opinion beyond the zero knowledge I had of Kennedy’s work to begin with. It was the Tonelli review that led me to conclude I wouldn’t be interested in reading it, which is what good crit should do, right?

      This thread is fighty.

  76. sarah m.g.

      I found the Coldfront review miles more entertaining for it’s rabiditiy than the Tonelli, but nothing about it formed any kind of opinion beyond the zero knowledge I had of Kennedy’s work to begin with. It was the Tonelli review that led me to conclude I wouldn’t be interested in reading it, which is what good crit should do, right?

      This thread is fighty.

  77. brandon

      seems that if someone defined ‘review’ it might be easier to decide whether the review ‘in question’ was ‘good’ or ‘bad’

  78. brandon

      seems that if someone defined ‘review’ it might be easier to decide whether the review ‘in question’ was ‘good’ or ‘bad’

  79. shampoo head

      I loved Ellen’s book. One reviewer said her vulgarity was too plain, not “exuberant” like Ginsberg’s vulgarity. So? I enjoyed every word in this wonderful book. Finally someone writing what goes on inside the head, instead of wearing the poet’s “hat.” Brava Ellen. You are wonderful. Trust your instincts, ok. The world will follow.

  80. shampoo head

      I loved Ellen’s book. One reviewer said her vulgarity was too plain, not “exuberant” like Ginsberg’s vulgarity. So? I enjoyed every word in this wonderful book. Finally someone writing what goes on inside the head, instead of wearing the poet’s “hat.” Brava Ellen. You are wonderful. Trust your instincts, ok. The world will follow.

  81. Matt
  82. Matt
  83. Justin Taylor

      David, I meant to thank you yesterday for posting this link. I spent some time on your site and it’s interesting. And yeah, it’s a solid piece on Ellen. Thanks for popping up.

  84. Justin Taylor

      David, I meant to thank you yesterday for posting this link. I spent some time on your site and it’s interesting. And yeah, it’s a solid piece on Ellen. Thanks for popping up.

  85. Justin Taylor

      Kathleen- Yes, I liked your review a lot. I thought I linked it back when the octopus issue first came out, but maybe I should have directed people there again. Anyway, thanks for throwing the link up–first time, again, or whatever.

  86. Justin Taylor

      Kathleen- Yes, I liked your review a lot. I thought I linked it back when the octopus issue first came out, but maybe I should have directed people there again. Anyway, thanks for throwing the link up–first time, again, or whatever.

  87. david miller

      word. thanks justin. i was stoked to hear about your creative writing students today. linked to that in my blog. we’ve just started teaching travel writing so it’s good to get all different perspectives. bigup.

  88. david miller

      word. thanks justin. i was stoked to hear about your creative writing students today. linked to that in my blog. we’ve just started teaching travel writing so it’s good to get all different perspectives. bigup.

  89. Matt Cozart

      Yeah, but I believe he believes what he’s saying. Honesty isn’t necessarily a virtue. Anybody can be honest. It’s easy. But being honest isn’t the same as being right.

  90. Matt Cozart

      Yeah, but I believe he believes what he’s saying. Honesty isn’t necessarily a virtue. Anybody can be honest. It’s easy. But being honest isn’t the same as being right.

  91. sugar

      i think ‘good’ and ‘bad’ mean ‘good to eat’ or ‘bad to eat’
      i think broccoli is good to eat but my friend hates broccoli
      hates it
      feels intense and passionate dislike for it

  92. sugar

      i think ‘good’ and ‘bad’ mean ‘good to eat’ or ‘bad to eat’
      i think broccoli is good to eat but my friend hates broccoli
      hates it
      feels intense and passionate dislike for it