The Book of Jane
by Jennifer Habel
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Pub Date Apr 01 2020 | Archive Date Apr 01 2020
University of Iowa Press | University Of Iowa Press
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Description
A Note From the Publisher
From “A Guide to Jane’s Office”:
That space heater is probably dangerous.
That’s from the gift shop at the Matisse Chapel.
This coaster hides a water ring.
Here is the bulletin board, empty as a well.
That’s trash.
That’s recycling.
This stuff needs to be shredded.
That under there is lost.
This is not quite what she expected, though it’s possible she never expected.
That sheet of paper says wine
compost
Dr. Wu?
Here is the thing about female sculptors in the Weimar Republic: their work was
celebrated only if it was small.
There is the squirrel staring in from the box gutter.
There is a long thin crack in the wall.
That’s nothing.
That’s private.
That’s due.
Advance Praise
“The Book of Jane blooms as a book of many books—those nipped at the bud, those impossible, unwritten works by women lost to history. This work is an aesthetic joy and a feminist breakthrough, and Jennifer Habel’s is a voice we need, a voice we’ve waited a long time to hear.”—Brenda Shaughnessy, judge, Iowa Poetry Prize
“Jennifer Habel’s Book of Jane is quietly spectacular, and here, much as the poet says in the long final poem ‘big ambitions require small frames.’ These poems are formally inventive and various. Habel’s readers will marvel at the subtle, remarkable achievement of these poems, ‘Look at that.’”—Rebecca Lindenberg, author, Love, An Index
“Jennifer Habel’s The Book of Jane is a formally inventive romp of a book that wrestles with and away from John Berger’s Ways of Seeing—‘men act and women appear.’ Female creativity and agency are central to Habel’s imaginative flourishes, which are considerable, brilliant, and always illuminating.”—Denise Duhamel, author, Scald
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9781609387075 |
| PRICE | $19.95 (USD) |
Featured Reviews
Words, Images, & Worlds (, Reviewer
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.
Jantine K, Reviewer
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.
Book Trade Professional 457494
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.
Joseph S, Reviewer
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.
Julia B, Reviewer
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!
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