John McKenna

Sessions                                                                                                       Amazon Print

John J. McKenna’s new book of poetry, Sessions, invites the reader to travel with him in time and place. The reader walks with him through sessions from LA to North Beach to the East Village. In “A cup of coffee, a cigarette and an attempt to read the day’s new-spaper,” a prose poem, a paragraph of benign images clearly brought to a string of contrasting lives “…movements there were those whose wasted and warn wander was visible sticky skin and denim sundress and shades heat crackle color collage snaking and twisting whirling and writhing in and out of avenue sidewalks…” John’s writing brings otherwise mundane images into the realm of all senses. I found myself reading aloud, chewing the words, tasting, pausing as each bite provided a pause to contrast “…crumbling cement corners breasts young and old alike…and god-on-fire combat boots and the march of Brooks Brothers clientele…” —Barry Gross, author of “Coiled Logic”

 

John J. McKenna is a New York-born, Princeton-based writer, whose efforts range from poetry and longer prose to academic studies. John is a grateful member of the New Hope Beat Poets Society (New Hope, PA).

John’s inspiration – beyond the visits of myriad Muses (some of darker voice & wing than others) – flows from Rumi, Emerson and Whitman through Ginsberg, Jack K. and Bukowski to current torchbearers – flamethrowers hell raisers like Kim Addonizio.

John believes in wine, women and song. John’s poetry has appeared in The River Poets Journal (Editor: Judith Lawrence) and Vox Poetica (Editor: Annmarie Lockhart). Follow John here and at his writer’s website/blog: johnjmckenna.net as well as at facebook at johnjmckennapoetry