• Home
  • Fine Living
    • Start Here—Welcome to Tweetspeak!
    • Read
      • A Poem a Day with Every Day Poems
      • book club
      • Poetry Newsletter!
      • poetry reviews
      • T. S. Poetry Press
      • Quote a Day
    • Write
      • A Book of Beginnings
      • Become a Better Writer
      • Fiction Posts & Prompts
      • Memoir Notebook
      • Poets and Writers Toolkit
      • Writer’s Conferences
      • Writing Prompts
    • Live
      • Art and Disabilities
      • Artist Date
      • Eating and Drinking Poems
      • Journey into Poetry
      • Literary Tour
      • Poem on Your Pillow Day
      • Poetry at Work Day
      • Random Acts of Poetry Day
      • Take Your Poet to Work Day
    • Play
      • Coloring Page Poems
      • Mischief Café
      • Music Playlists
      • poetry humor
      • Quote a Day
      • Shop
      • Twitter Poetry Parties
      • Videos
    • Learn
      • Infographics
      • Poetry Classroom
      • Poetry Units for Teachers
      • Writer’s Conferences
      • Writing Workshops
    • Grow
  • Poets & Poems
  • Writers’ Resources
  • Get a Daily Poem
  • Teaching Tools
  • The Press
  • Workshops

Poets and Poems: Luke Kennard and “Cain”

By Glynn Young 1 Comment

Cain by Luke Kennard
British poet Luke Kennard has collected a number of glowing descriptions of his poetry—among them ingenious, innovative, clever, entertaining, “one of British poetry’s brightest lights,” and funny. After reading Cain: Poems, his latest collection, I would add “playful” and “a dash of mischief.”

The Cain of the title is the Cain of the book of Genesis in the Bible, the man who killed his brother Abel because he was jealous of the favor shown by God to Abel’s offering. God didn’t smite Cain down for his crime, but he did put a mark upon him and sent him into permanent exile and wandering. The biblical account doesn’t mention what the mark was, but it must have been noticeable.

In Kennard’s poems, Cain shows up one day at the poet’s front door. The poet has lost his faith and his marriage in the same week, and turned to the solace of beer—a lot of beer, wine-strength wheat beers, in fact. The poet hears the doorbell ring, and there’s an inflatable life-sized Frankenstein doll, behind which stands Cain. (I can’t imagine that the inflatable Frankenstein is Cain’s mark, but it does raise some interesting possibilities.)

Cain becomes the poet’s companion. More than that, he becomes the poet’s counselor, tour guide, psychoanalyst, and conscience (of a sort). They visit an old people’s home where Cain volunteers. They talk about trees. Cain encourages the poet to talk to women. He takes the poet to a shrine but they arrive in the wrong century. They visit a glass eye museum. And gradually does the reader see that Cain is actually part of the poet, suggesting that the poet also bears the mark of Cain (and so, perhaps, do the rest us).

The poems are often funny, and definitely playful, but there’s also a poignancy to them. Among other things, Cain represents loss—the loss of innocence, of rootedness and place, and of belonging.

Intermezzo Zolpimist

Cain by Luke KennardSometimes I think this will all go away
if I can find the right combination
of caffeine, alcohol and misfortune.
The auto-reject is held in another tab.
Someone tricked you into taking
yourself seriously. I don’t feel this ever
passing: my friend is a nurse and she says
it doesn’t ever pass and I trust her.
I watch the cogs from the motorway bridge,
and help is a publicity stunt
and talking about it is cold water.
Stepping into the river in my best shoes,
I think that’s apt and then I feel sick.
Back at the glass eye museum, Cain
takes my hand. ‘You’re as bad as science,’
he says. ‘I wish the philosophers
would get involved again.’

Cain is divided into three parts: the Cain poems; a series of anagrams whose presentation on the page is challenging—black-printed text in the center surrounded by smaller red-printed text; and then a section entitled “Death Shroud” that returns to Cain. The anagrams in the middle, however, stay true to the theme of the Cain poems.

Luke Kennard

Luke Kennard

Kennard teaches English and creative writing at the University of Birmingham. He has published several collections, including The Solex Brothers (Redux) (2005); The Migraine Hotel (2009); The Harbour Beyond the Movie (2010); Planet-Shaped Horse (2013); and A Lost Expression (2014). He has also published a sci-fi mystery, Holophin (2012), and will be publishing a novel, The Transition, in January of 2018.

I’m not sure what I would do if my doorbell rang and I opened the door to find a life-sized Frankenstein doll and the person of Cain. But Kennard evidently did, and in Cain produced a funny, thought-provoking account.

Related:

Luke Kennard reads “Cain Reverses Time”

Browse more poets and poems

Photo by Roberto Borello, Creative Commons, via Flickr. Post by Glynn Young, author of the novels Dancing Priest and A Light Shining, and Poetry at Work.

__________________________

How to Read a Poem by Tania Runyan How to Read a Poem uses images like the mouse, the hive, the switch (from the Billy Collins poem)—to guide readers into new ways of understanding poems. Anthology included.

“I require all our incoming poetry students—in the MFA I direct—to buy and read this book.”

—Jeanetta Calhoun Mish

Buy How to Read a Poem Now!

You Might Also Like

  • Poets and Poems: Matt Duggan and “One Million Tiny Cuts”Poets and Poems: Matt Duggan and “One Million Tiny Cuts”
  • Poets and Poems: Caroline Bird and “In These Days of Prohibition”Poets and Poems: Caroline Bird and “In These Days of Prohibition”
  • Poets and Poems: Clive James and “Injury Time”Poets and Poems: Clive James and “Injury Time”
  • Poets and Poems: Michael Pedersen and “Oyster”Poets and Poems: Michael Pedersen and “Oyster”

Filed Under: article, book reviews, Books, Britain, Poems, poetry, poetry reviews, Poets

P. S., With Love

We hope we made your day
with something you loved or needed.

Make our day? 🙂

Keep thoughtfulness, beauty, & whimsy
in your world (and the world)
with just $1 a month

Comments

  1. Bethany R. says

    October 24, 2017 at 11:11 am

    Love the image of answering the door to an inflatable Frankenstein in front of Cain! Glad to learn about this thoughtful poet with a sense of humor. Thanks for this post.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Take How to Read a Poem

Get the Introduction, the Billy Collins poem, and Chapter 1

Free with tweet

Search Tweetspeak

Follow Tweetspeak Poetry

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Getting added to our newsletter is your first perk, when you join us on Patreon!

Welcome to Tweetspeak

New to Tweetspeak Poetry? Start here, in The Mischief Café.

You’re a regular? Check out our April Menu.

Recent Comments

  • BestBuck on How to Write a Catalog Poem (or Not)
  • Laurie Klein on The Children’s Storybook Garden (Arlington, Washington)
  • Katie on Poetry Prompt: Misunderstood Lion
  • Katie on Form It: Little Lamb Poetry Prompt

Featured In

We're happy to have been featured in...

The New York Observer

The Huffington Post

The Paris Review

Tumblr Book News

Categories

Poetry for Life? Here's our manifesto on the matter...

Poetry for Life: The 5 Vital Approaches

Help make it happen. Post The 5 Vital Approaches on your site!

Learn to Write Form Poems

Whether or not you end up enjoying the form poem, we've seen the value of building your skills through writing in form.

One reader who explored the villanelle was even featured in Every Day Poems!

How to Write an Acrostic

How to Write a Ballad

How to Write a Catalog Poem

How to Write a Ghazal

How to Write a Haiku

How to Write an Ode

How to Write a Pantoum

How to Write a Rondeau

How to Write a Sestina

How to Write a Sonnet

How to Write a Villanelle

Featured Literary Analysis

Poem Analysis: Anne Sexton's Her Kind

Poem Analysis: Adrienne Rich's Diving into the Wreck

Poem Analysis: Matthew Arnold's Dover Beach

Character Analysis: Romeo and Juliet

Order and Disorder in Macbeth

Tone in For Whom the Bell Tolls and Catch-22

Tragedy and Comedy: Why People Love Them

Was Hamlet Sane or Insane?

Shakespeare Resources

Poetry Classroom: Sonnet 18

Common Core Picture Poems: Sonnet 73

Sonnet 104 Annotated

Sonnet 116 Annotated

Character Analysis: Romeo and Juliet

Character Analysis: Was Hamlet Sane or Insane?

Why Does Hamlet Wait to Kill the King?

10 Fun Shakespeare Resources

About Shakespeare: Poet and Playwright

Top 10 Shakespeare Sonnets

Book Promotion, Platform, Publicity

Author Platform: Where to Start

Ten Surprising Secrets to Make Your Book Go Viral

How to Host a Successful Book Launch

Simple Tips on Finding and Working with a Book Publicist

How to Get Your Poems Published!

Pride and Prejudice Resources

5 Amusing Pride and Prejudice Quotes

Infographic: Simpleton's Guide to Pride and Prejudice

10 Great Pride and Prejudice Resources

Happy Birthday Mr. Darcy: A Pride and Prejudice Playlist

Featured Top 10 Poems

Top 10 Chicken Poems

Top 10 Chocolate Poems (Okay, Minus 3)

Top 10 Fairy Tale Poems

Top 10 Funny Poems

Top 10 Laundry Poems

10 of the Best Love Poems

Top 10 Poems with Make or Break Titles

Top 10 Mirror Poems

Top 10 Question Poems

Top 10 Red Poems

Top 10 Rose Poems

Top 10 Summer Poems

10 Great Poems About Work

Children’s Poems, Children’s Books

Llamas in Pajamas and Ten Great Children's Poetry Books

A Children's Poem on the Playground

Come Again: Teaching Poetry to Children

Poetry With Children: What's in Your Journal

Teaching Poetry to Children: There Are So Many Blues

Take Your Poet to Work Day: Poet Treasure Hunt in the Library (Callie's Story)

6 Benefits of Reading Aloud to Your Children

Top 10 Children's Books and YA Books

Little Red Riding Hood: Graphic Novel

14 Reasons Peter Rabbit Should Be Banned (Satire)

Featured Infographics

Infographic: How to Write an Acrostic Poem

Infographic: How to Write a Ballad

Infographic: How to Write an Epic Poem

Infographic: Ghazal for a Gazelle

Infographic: Boost Your Haiku High Q

Infographic: Pantoum of the Opera

Infographic: How to Write an Ode

Infographic: Poem a Day

Infographic: How to Write a Rondeau

Infographic: Simpleton's Guide to Pride and Prejudice

Sonnet Infographic: Quatrain Wreck

Featured Playlists

Playlist: Cat's Meow

Playlist: Doors and Passageways

Playlist: Fairy Tale and Fantasy

Playlist: Purple Rain and Indigo Blues

Playlist: Surrealism

Playlist: Best Tattoo Songs

Playlist: Trains and Tracks

All the Playlists

They Bring Poetry for Life

Meet our wonderful partners, who bring "poetry for life" to students, teachers, librarians, businesses, employees—to all sorts of people, across the world.

How to Read at an Open Mic free download

How to Read at an Open Mic!

Free Sample!

The Teacher Diaires Front Cover with Lauren Winner

“Hilarious, heart-rending, entertaining.”

—KA, Amazon reviewer

GET FREE SAMPLE NOW

About Us

  • Our Story
  • Meet Our Team
  • Poetry for Life: The 5 Vital Approaches
  • Contact Us

Writing With Us

  • Poetry Prompts
  • Submissions
  • Writing Workshops

Reading With Us

  • Book Club
  • Dip Into Poetry
  • Every Day Poems
  • Literacy Extras
  • Quote a Day

Public Days for Poetry

  • Poem on Your Pillow Day
  • Poet in a Cupcake Day
  • Poetry at Work Day
  • Random Acts of Poetry Day
  • Take Your Poet to School Week—National Poetry Month!
  • Take Your Poet to Work Day

Gift Ideas

  • Give the Gift of Every Day Poems
  • Our Shop
  • Everybody Loves a Book!

Connect

  • Blog Buttons
  • Become a Partner
  • Shop for Tweetspeak Fun Stuff

Copyright © 2018 Tweetspeak Poetry · Site by The Willingham Enterprise · FAQ & Disclosure

Cookies

This site uses cookies: Find out more.