My real name is Joe Kennedy, but if you live in Massachusetts, you can't sign 'Joe Kennedy.' So, back in 1957, I stuck the X on my name to be different from those people in Hyannis Port.

X. J. Kennedy

Categorized in : You Name Be Different People

The Purpose of Time is to Prevent Everything from Happening at On... by X. J. Kennedy

The Purpose of Time is to Prevent Everything from Happening at Once

happenings purpose

In poetry, only emotion endures. by X. J. Kennedy

In poetry, only emotion endures.

endure emotion

Poetry is probably the one field of writing in which it is a mistake to try to psych out editors. In fact, specific marketing advice can sometimes harm the novice poet by enticing him to pursue fashions. The poet's best hope is to sound like nobody else, The finest, most enduring poetry constructs a marketplace of its own.

fashion mistake writing

On solemn asses fall plush sinecures, So keep a straight face and... by X. J. Kennedy

On solemn asses fall plush sinecures, So keep a straight face and sit tight on yours.

ass faces fall

In thigh-high yellow leather boots Plump Saphonisba strides. Too bad that, just to hide her calves, Two calves have lost their hides.

boots yellow two

Let you hold in mind, girls, that your beauty must pass by X. J. Kennedy

Let you hold in mind, girls, that your beauty must pass

carpe-diem girl white

I’d be glad to go out on a limb with those by X. J. Kennedy

I’d be glad to go out on a limb with those

light air wind

As a writer given to the old formalities of rhyme and meter, I so... by X. J. Kennedy

As a writer given to the old formalities of rhyme and meter, I sometimes feel endangered these days.

days old feel sometimes

To me, a poem that's in rhyme and meter is the difference between watching a film in full color and watching a film in black and white. Not that a few black and white films aren't wonderful. So are certain successful pieces of free verse.

me black-and-white black white

The attitude that poetry should not be analyzed is prevalent among many who consider themselves experts on children's literature. But I suspected that kids like to look closely at things and figure out what makes them go.

look poetry attitude children

I like poems where you don't really know whether to laugh or cry... by X. J. Kennedy

I like poems where you don't really know whether to laugh or cry when you read them.

laugh know you cry

I don't think anybody is a poet 24/7, only in those rare moments... by X. J. Kennedy

I don't think anybody is a poet 24/7, only in those rare moments when a person is producing a poem.

person think poet moments