Luke Kennard

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Articles

A stunning vision of life on a parallel Earth (or two)

Jan 11, 2025 | telegraph.co.uk | Luke Kennard

Welcome to planet Aerth. In what seems to be an analogue of our solar system, the third planet from the Sun hosts a gentler society than the earthly one in which you’re reading this: it’s agricultural, ecologically minded, governed by a town-hall politics built around secular pieties and matriarchal “mentors” for young men. The Hippocratic oath, “First do no harm”, is consistently applied at every scale. This is an innocent version of humanity for whom even telling a lie is unthinkable.
A magnificent new history of poetry – written in the form of a poem

Dec 9, 2024 | telegraph.co.uk | Luke Kennard

Dante and his Commedia (1464-5) by Domenico di Michelino Credit: Hulton Fine Art Did you know that one of the most popular poetic forms in the troubadour era was the “Lament on the Death of a Patron”? That, in the early days of print, the poet didn’t get a penny of the proceeds from book sales until they took matters into their own hands? These are just some of the fascinating details Ryan Ruby presents in Context Collapse, his complete history of poetry – written in blank verse – from the...
Are you a Mad Max fan? Read this brilliant eco-thriller

Oct 17, 2024 | telegraph.co.uk | Luke Kennard

Tim Winton’s new novel takes place in the aftermath of a climate breakdown Credit: Alamy A century into the future – possibly centuries – an unnamed narrator drives across deserts of ash in a solar-powered jerry-rigged truck full of gadgets for purifying water and growing food. His companion is a silent, traumatised girl; she is not his daughter. Humanity has degenerated into violent marauding gangs, though this is a fairly recent development. When the duo reach an abandoned mine – possibly...
The best poetry books of 2024 so far

Oct 14, 2024 | msn.com | Declan Ryan |Tristram Fane Saunders |Luke Kennard |Lucy Thynne |John Clegg |Shane McCrae

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Bach, wolves and fascists – a genius novelist strikes again

Sep 27, 2024 | telegraph.co.uk | Luke Kennard

László Krasznahorkai, author of Herscht 07769 Getty Tensions are rising in Kana, a quiet town in central Germany. It has an ageing population, a post office and a forester who sells big jars of honey; it also has a group of militant fascists intent on violently defending the town’s way of life. Into this scene comes Florian Herscht, an innocent of immense physical prowess. He’s somewhere between Paul Bunyan and Frankenstein’s monster, naive and emotional but curious and intelligent. Animals...
Our City, My City and Roy Fisher’s ‘City’

Aug 13, 2024 | open.substack.com | Luke Kennard

Good morning Patchers — The late Roy Fisher was a teacher, a jazz pianist and “one of the best poets of his somewhat unsung generation”, writes fellow bard Luke Kennard in today’s essay. Fisher’s work is deeply connected with Birmingham. The poet Neil Leadbeater even described the city’s affect on Fisher as though he were “being possessed by it” and his work as a way of “exorcising” it from his mind.
Our City, My City and Roy Fisher’s ‘City’

Aug 13, 2024 | birminghamdispatch.co.uk | Luke Kennard

Good morning Patchers — The late Roy Fisher was a poet, a teacher, a jazz pianist and “one of the best poets of his somewhat unsung generation”, writes fellow bard Luke Kennard in today’s essay. Fisher’s work is deeply connected with Birmingham. The poet Neil Leadbeater even described the city’s affect on Fisher as though he were “being possessed by it” and his work as a way of “exorcising” it from his mind.
A rural shack, fresh wine and casual sex – who needs civilisation?

Jul 23, 2024 | telegraph.co.uk | Luke Kennard

Off-grid: Baltasar's narrator detaches herself from conventional life Credit: Kristian Bell At the beginning of Mammoth, Eva Baltasar’s magnificent third novel, our anonymous narrator is working as a post-doctoral researcher in a Barcelona sociology department. She interviews elderly people at the end of their lives, recording their regrets as they approach death. Though she’s diligent, she has doubts about the quantitative method: “Reducing life to an Excel spreadsheet felt like a crime.”...
How do you deal with a house-guest who eats your socks?

Apr 1, 2024 | telegraph.co.uk | Luke Kennard

Thun in Switzerland; Overstaying is set in an unnamed European town Credit: iStockphoto An unnamed narrator in an unnamed small town – possibly in Eastern Europe – takes in a destitute wanderer on a whim. The narrator’s 10-roomed house is the largest in the town; she inherited it from her parents.
The seven best poetry books of 2024 so far reviewed

Mar 1, 2024 | telegraph.co.uk | Tristram Fane Saunders |Luke Kennard |Lucy Thynne |John Clegg

Gboyega Odubanjo, author of Adam, died in August 2023 Credit: Asare Debrah/Faber July: Adam by Gboyega OdubanjoAdam is Gboyega Odubanjo’s first full-length book of poetry.