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myriadreads's review against another edition
5.0
While the Kettle’s On is a rare collection of poetry that manages to balance depth and lyricism with accessibility—these are poems that you’ll understand instantly, but you’ll want to read them and consider them again and again. Melissa Fite Johnson invites readers into a world both familiar and new with poems of family history, coming of age, and married life. These are honest poems that reveal the poet’s unique insight and experience, but they don’t rely on shock value to hook readers. Instead, they engage us with a fresh perspective on the memories, stories, challenges, and blessings that so many of us share. You’ll find yourself nodding in recognition, tearing up in sympathy, and laughing out loud.
lisa_mc's review
4.0
Note: I'm reading a (short) stack of collections by four contemporary Kansas poets. This is #1 of 4.
I don’t read a lot of poetry and I definitely don't have any training in form (or lack thereof) so I came at these with an attitude of “I don’t know what’s considered ‘good’ but I know what I like.”
I really liked this collection. The poems center on family and daily life, modern without being modernistic. The writing is clear and evocative without seeming “crafted" or overly lyrical, and it flows smoothly and clearly. Many of the poems made me think of things in my own life -- similar or opposite. And I copied lines from a few of them because I liked the way the words went together or the image they evoked.
I don’t read a lot of poetry and I definitely don't have any training in form (or lack thereof) so I came at these with an attitude of “I don’t know what’s considered ‘good’ but I know what I like.”
I really liked this collection. The poems center on family and daily life, modern without being modernistic. The writing is clear and evocative without seeming “crafted" or overly lyrical, and it flows smoothly and clearly. Many of the poems made me think of things in my own life -- similar or opposite. And I copied lines from a few of them because I liked the way the words went together or the image they evoked.
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