I was not a fan of the poems themselves even if I appreciate what the poet was trying to say. 100 characters

I haven't read poetry in quite a while, but this was a great dive back in. Jennifer Habel's poetry is humourous, intense, complex and beautiful. The way she depicts the role of women - in history and both in present day - is powerful and lovely. It wasn't an easy read, but it was a lovely one!

Poetry is always difficult to review because it speaks differently to different people and differently at times to the same person. I pick up some of my favourite poetry books and then put them down because they are not connecting as I’m not in the “right mood”. The Book of Jane is a bit like that. It reverberated some times but not others and I do need a couple more rereads.

There are some beautiful lines in here: “Another memory is of the kindergarten teacher saying “Goodbye, children,” at the end of the day and my envy of the girl whose name I assumed to be Children.”

There are short poems with short lines and longer more in-depth works but the frame overall is small and the contrast between the lives of women and men and how they are “seen”. There are many good ideas here and it will definitely be reread. I hadn’t come across Jennifer Habel before but I will look out for her other work.

I was given a copy of this book by Netgalley in return for an honest review.

Some parts are moving yet also some are meh for me. Yes i know that poetry must be written uniquely with emotions but this book is kinda lacking some point in poetry. Hence, it is still a great collection of poems

The Book of Jane by Jennifer Habel is the 2019 Iowa Poetry Prize winner. Habel is the author of Good Reason, winner of the 2011 Stevens Poetry Manuscript Competition, and In the Little House, winner of the 2008 Copperdome Chapbook Prize. She is currently the Coordinator of Creative Writing at the University of Cincinnati.

This collection begins with a very Dick and Jane start for those old enough to recall those readers. The lines are short; Jane is expressed in the third person. Jane is also smart, however, not as smart as her husband or father or even her brother with a lower IQ. There is a feeling of place based on gender and the role the female is forced to assume in society. Jane must lose ten pounds. Even the necklace she wants to wear is "faceted, like a concession," The verse continues, and it grows to "The Doll in the Convent" where the lines remain simple but create a powerful rhythm demonstrating the power behind what is held back.

The cover of the book reminded me of Vanessa Bell, Virginia Woolf's sister. The faceless portrait will later be emphasized in the closing poem. There was a small reference to Woolf's work To the Light House in the collection which itself trigger plenty of thoughts about gender roles in society, especially Charles Tansley's "Women can't write, women can't paint." Everything I was thinking throughout the collection, Woolf and Bell included, cumulated in the final poem "Matisse's Great Granddaughter or Jane the Long Way."  This long poem had me searching for the paintings referenced and catching the moment when I realized what Sophie Matisse had done with her Mona Lisa and Descending Staircase.  The Book of Jane is undoubtedly an enlightening collection of poetry in the tradition of the Iowa Poetry Prize.

It was hard for me to connect with her writing style, thus most of the time I was just scamming through the pages and not really reading them. I had my hopes up and I wanted to like the poems but it wasn't really my cup of tea.

Matisse’s Great-Granddaughter, Or Jane and the Long Way

"Sophie never once – I double check – selected the work of a female painter.
Then again it occurs to me there may not be a sufficiently iconic painting by a woman, In the history of art.
I google “iconic paintings by women”
The engine gently corrects my preposition to “of,” and provides a list of what is calls Famous Classic Paintings of Women ."

Jane is plain,,,Jane can't be seen....Jane is we. Jennifer Habel has taken on a meaty foe in her book of poems though placing our everywoman Jane, in all of her silent achievements, against the vaunted and iconic male counterparts that create the shadows that extend over all of the Janes of the world. This is a great exercise and Hable uses some extraordinarily unique structures to unmask the disparities. - some work well, some not so much. Still, it is an audacious attempt and there is nothing plain about it.

Sometimes I feel really lost when I open up a book to read. Maybe I got confused with the book description. I picked up this book because of tue description, the book cover and thought it as a full-fledged book. Somehow it should turn out okay as I do read a lot of poetry/verse formats too and actually enjoy reading them. Somehow this one just didn't tick. I so wanted to connect with the words, I tried my best to get along with the situations described; I tried to get into the emotions in between the lines. Somehow I just couldn't. Maybe it's just me. I felt like reading a checklist of things done, felt and used being listed in the book. I just couldn't feel more than that. But yes, I appreciate the new style of presentation. Maybe if I was more used to the new format, I would have been able to enjoy this book more. And yes, contentwise I couldn't find much of anything significant as per the description I was looking for something about feelings and writings about 'gender, authority and art.' Sadly, it didn't make much of an impact.

Thank you #NetGalley for the book #TheBookofJane

Meaty and complex, these poems contain wit and frustration, the combination of words alternating in lyricism and abruptness. Likewise, I alternated savouring some and skimming others. Overall, a challenging and impressive collection.

I would say that this book is a bit of a disappointment for me. It does have quite some parts talking about various literary names, but I found it shallow and reluctant. On sentence goes like the womb is a cul-de-sac. It feels like trying too much. The way each part has been put together gives a feeling of day-to-day account, and stimulates less echo for me as a reader.

A very interesting book. I will probably re-read some parts in the coming weeks. Some ideas were kind of new to me, others were familiar, but brought in a new way that made me think on them again.

Jennifer Habel has a playful and engaging talent for words. Each poem in this collection seeks to prove that point page by page. Most enjoyable.