{"id":5040,"date":"2025-12-05T10:48:35","date_gmt":"2025-12-05T10:48:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=5040"},"modified":"2025-12-05T10:48:35","modified_gmt":"2025-12-05T10:48:35","slug":"book-review-rites-of-passage-by-mel-kenne","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=5040","title":{"rendered":"Book Review: Rites of Passage by Mel Kenne"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

Rites of Passage<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

by Mel Kenne<\/p>\n

Genre:<\/strong> Poetry<\/p>\n

ISBN: <\/strong>9798891328471<\/p>\n

Print Length:<\/strong> 192 pages<\/p>\n

Publisher:<\/strong> Atmosphere Press<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n\t\t\t\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\n

\t\t\t<\/p><\/span>Amazon<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

\t\t\t<\/p><\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n

\n\t\t\t\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\n

\t\t\t<\/p><\/span>Bookshop<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

\t\t\t<\/p><\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Reviewed by Nikolas Mavreas<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong>A fearless look into an unforgiving mirror\u2014a collection of intensely personal poetry cooled by objective reflection<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Mel Kenne has over forty years of published poetry behind him, and all his experience and weary wisdom is reflected in this moving new collection. A multivarious volume, Rites of Passage<\/em> brings forth poems that are connected through retrospection and the serene if unsure acceptance of everything that comes with life.<\/p>\n

Dealing with origins, a couple of poems grapple with the classic father and son dynamic. In \u201cSun and Shadow,\u201d Kenne compares the two in parallel, leading to a convergence before they split again in the last lines. Elsewhere, the son sees in a dream that he cut off his father\u2019s head, as we conclude with a truth that no father or son has ever been perfect.<\/p>\n

Going back a couple more generations, Kenne juxtaposes the Nietzsche with the Yeats in himself, owing to his double German and Irish roots. Looking into the much deeper past, the poet reflects on ancient ruins, where tourists impose themselves upon the \u201cstone blocks in their sunny playground.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Becoming more grave, he considers \u201ca place \/ where non may die \/ unsung, unmourned,\u201d<\/em><\/strong> going on to will a \u201csanctum sanctorum, \/ let\u2019s say, on a wall \/ made of smiling skulls,\u201d<\/em><\/strong> the off-hand \u201clet\u2019s say\u201d contrasting with the startlingly specific final image. Kenne, who lives on the Aegean coast of Turkey among, around, and right on top of traces of ancient civilization, may have taken inspiration for this image from the recent discovery in that region of an ancient mosaic featuring a reclining skeleton enjoying a cup of wine, with \u201cthe happy one\u201d inscribed over his head.<\/p>\n

Throughout these pages, the poems wrestle with what it is that matters in the end. The poet seems to be moving toward a place free of desires, which may be attainment of \u201csome higher plain of being \/ or another small, earthly gain.\u201d<\/em><\/strong> He prays to no one and expects nothing, which seems like either happiness or terror, depending on your point of view. Does he himself matter? He feels guilty and powerless watching the world go to hell while doing nothing for posterity, but he \u201ccan\u2019t write for the ages,\u201d<\/em><\/strong> he \u201ccan only write for the hour.\u201d<\/em><\/strong> The value of his proclaimed reason for existing depends, once more, on your point of view, but he preempts the doubters and offers reassurance:<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I live for now \/ is a cat, a cat who lives with, and for, me. \/ I live for her life and mine to remain \/ here another day. Don\u2019t be sad, this isn\u2019t. \/ Love never is.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Presenting an overall apathetic attitude toward death, the book contains many moments which defy that apathy. Moments like those that are to be found in \u201cAugust\u2019s chirping amphitheater of desires,\u201d<\/em><\/strong> or those slices of life provided by \u201cthe bright, cutting edge \/of the first cold front, \/ with its razor-sharp division \/ of each moment.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

For Kenne, writing poetry is finding solace, something which is expressed indirectly but also explicitly in this work. And as much as poetry conveys and is a large part of his past, it also holds his future, which is \u201cvested in a small stock of words.\u201d<\/em><\/strong> So there is a conflict when in the end he declares \u201cI am empty now of you \u2013 of poetry. Finally!\u201d<\/em><\/strong> Perhaps Kenne teaches that we must be able to let go even of the things that are most central to our identity. Rites of Passage<\/em> contains writing of great character and deep personal expression, and its words of goodbye can be felt as a minor act of bravery.<\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\t\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\n

\t\t\t<\/p><\/span>Amazon<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

\t\t\t<\/p><\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n

\n\t\t\t\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\n

\t\t\t<\/p><\/span>Bookshop<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

\t\t\t<\/p><\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Thank you for reading Nikolas Mavreas\u2019s book review of Rites of Passage <\/em>by Mel Kenne! If you liked what you read, please spend some more time with us at the links below.<\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\t\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\n

\t\t\t<\/p><\/span>Book Reviews<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

\t\t\t<\/p><\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n

\n\t\t\t\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\n

\t\t\t<\/p><\/span>IBR Blog<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

\t\t\t<\/p><\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n

\n\t\t\t\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\n

\t\t\t<\/p><\/span>Resources for Writers<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

\t\t\t<\/p><\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The post Book Review: Rites of Passage by Mel Kenne<\/a> appeared first on Independent Book Review<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rites of Passage by Mel Kenne Genre: Poetry ISBN: 9798891328471 Print Length: 192 pages Publisher: Atmosphere Press Amazon Bookshop Reviewed by Nikolas Mavreas A fearless look into an unforgiving mirror\u2014a collection of intensely personal poetry cooled by objective reflection Mel Kenne has over forty years of published poetry behind him, and all his experience and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":5041,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5040","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bookreviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5040"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5040"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5040\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5041"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5040"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5040"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5040"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}