Keynote
An extraordinary and unexpected book of finding happiness, by the award-winning author of The Renunciations
Book Title
The Natural Order of Things
Subtitle
Poems
Cover Image
- “The Natural Order of Things has a simple premise: that we are put here to love. . . . Donika Kelly sings this love to us in languages––from her family's Southern vernacular to the ecstatic compression of the sonnet––that close the distance between grief and joy.”—Evie Shockley
Poem Excerpt
Observe the baby hippo,
early born in hay over concrete,
stumbling and new in its enclosure:
Taut skin and fat and awkward steps—
it stumbles under a fluorescent sun
and nearly into the white walls.
Hippo baby, little river horse,
you should be in a river.
O Donika, you should be in love.
—from “A Poem to Remind Myself of the Natural Order of Things”
early born in hay over concrete,
stumbling and new in its enclosure:
Taut skin and fat and awkward steps—
it stumbles under a fluorescent sun
and nearly into the white walls.
Hippo baby, little river horse,
you should be in a river.
O Donika, you should be in love.
—from “A Poem to Remind Myself of the Natural Order of Things”
Body
What does a life look like on the other side of survival, and can the one who survived come to recognize that she did?
Donika Kelly’s poetry is known for its resonant, unflinching confrontations with trauma and inheritance, translated through myth and nature. The Natural Order of Things expands these explorations into a new realm: one defined by joy and connection. It is an ode to companionship with people, animals, and our planet, and reveals the reparative power of intimacy. In poems inventive, playful, and formally nimble, Kelly pays homage to the voices and people she comes from, the songs of her lineage. Other poems follow the early stirrings of love to erotic transcendence with the lover and the self. Throughout, Kelly finds mirror and marvel in nature, art, and precious friendships. Though it once seemed impossible, she realizes a surprising place for herself, a rightness in the larger world.
The Natural Order of Things is a brilliant and moving book, one that reaches toward equilibrium and something like happiness.
Donika Kelly’s poetry is known for its resonant, unflinching confrontations with trauma and inheritance, translated through myth and nature. The Natural Order of Things expands these explorations into a new realm: one defined by joy and connection. It is an ode to companionship with people, animals, and our planet, and reveals the reparative power of intimacy. In poems inventive, playful, and formally nimble, Kelly pays homage to the voices and people she comes from, the songs of her lineage. Other poems follow the early stirrings of love to erotic transcendence with the lover and the self. Throughout, Kelly finds mirror and marvel in nature, art, and precious friendships. Though it once seemed impossible, she realizes a surprising place for herself, a rightness in the larger world.
The Natural Order of Things is a brilliant and moving book, one that reaches toward equilibrium and something like happiness.
List Price
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About the Author
Credit: Ladan Osman
Upcoming Events
Donika Kelly (THE NATURAL ORDER OF THINGS) reading and in conversation with Melissa Febos at Sarah Lawrence College
Date:
Location:
Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, NYview map
This event is free and open to the public. Find more information here.
Praise
“With two revelatory collections famous for their cohesion in both content and form, Kelly seeks out a more profound wholeness in her marvelous third. Poems respond to performances, exhibitions, and workshops, feeling collaborative and born of pleasure and challenge.”—Poetry Northwest
“The Natural Order Of Things is a beacon of love among the ashes of despair. Kelly writes a desire for life into every poem, each one seeing how the chips keep landing on the table in the same way and how she can choose to keep writing towards something more hopeful anyway.”—Andrew Jones, The Pittsburgh-Gazette
“In her dazzling latest, Kelly (The Renunciations) celebrates the endurance of life, love, and art, examining the porous boundaries between all living things. . . . With remarkable skill and depth, Kelly poses penetrating questions about memory and memorializing, self-reinvention, and finding liberation in a world that is increasingly hostile to the concept. It’s an unforgettable addition to a fantastic poet’s oeuvre.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“There’s bravery and relief in leaving behind what no longer serves us—something I’ve been thinking a lot about in my own life—and Kelly’s poems reclaim and reframe her history into a restorative and generative present.”—Mandana Chaffa, The Brooklyn Rail
