Lenore Kandel (1932–2009)

Sometimes you run across a poet that just clicks with you... Kandel clicked with me. I imagine the language was quite shocking back in the 1950s, especially from a woman. I was reminded of that old saying that the only people who use four letter words do not possess an adequate vocabulary to express themselves. Kandel, however, can use those four letter words because she has the vocabulary and style to make them work. She takes away the harsh edge and the shock value from them and makes them fit into her work without a sense discomfort. Unlike many who would use vulgar language and a sort of animalistic instinct to shock, Kandel uses them in the most casual way as if they belong in the conversation. The language at times may be the same as say Karen Finely, but the message is very different.

Not all the poetry is sexual, even though that is what made Kandel famous. There is the definite beat influence that merged into the hippie/flower child nature worship. Her poems mellow language-wise as the reader moves towards the middle of the collection. These seem to be her best work. "Bus Ride" is a look at (then) modern society. In "The Farmer, The Sailor," she recalls her grandfather and imagines him settling on the frontier of Wisconsin:

He stands there, the inland sailor, master mariner of the grassland
and his eye is blue with distance.

Form "First They Slaughtered the Angels:"

who finked on the angels?
who stole the holy grail and hocked it for a jug of wine?
who f*cked up Gabriel's golden horn?
was it an inside job?

who barbecued the lamb of god?
...
where are our weapons?
where are our bludgeons, our flame throwers, our poison
gas, our hand grenades
we fumble for our guns and our knees sprout credit cards
we vomit canceled checks.

Kandel was not afraid to take on subjects not normally given to women. For her time, she was the cutting edge, but marginalised by the male writers of her time. That is not to say that the Ginsbergs or Kerouacs of the time were lacking, but that her voice was not as prominent either by the times, her subject matter, or simply because she was a woman. Although some of the poems may have lost their edge over time, there are many that held up very well. A collection that is definitely worth the read.



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