A review by alexandraidonea
In Full Velvet by Jenny Johnson

5.0

Poetry has always been difficult for me - I love it but it's almost never quite what I want it to be. I was lucky enough to be brought to see Jenny Johnson by my boyfriend last weekend at the Word Barn in southern NH, and was blown away by her - performance? sharing? giving? - of her work to us. It was shattering, it was skipping, it was sneaking, and just at any moment when I thought "this poem is not for me" she would use a word, turn a phrase, drop her voice, lilt it up - and it was the perfect poem. I didn't hear her read it there, but the title poem is my favourite. I gave this collection to one of my best friends, who, like Jenny, loves women - but her poetry is for everyone, not only the community of which she is firmly a part. Her images of nature, the way she evokes forests and city bridges, snuggling birds and playing elephants - her delight in the world is evident, even if it is an imperfect and fragile world in which we live.