by John Kenney
First published 2018
John Kenney transforms the mundane realities of married life into sharp, funny verse that cuts straight to the bone. His poems capture those small moments that define long-term relationships: the shoulder massage that turns inappropriate, the endless negotiations over household chores, the way passion gets buried under parenting duties and daily routines. Each piece strips away romantic illusions to reveal what actually happens when two people commit to spending their lives together. Kenney writes about dwindling intimacy, parental exhaustion, and the constant low-level irritations that accumulate over years of shared space. His observations are merciless but affectionate, finding humor in the gap between wedding day dreams and Tuesday night reality. The collection emerged from his viral New Yorker piece and expands that concept into a full exploration of matrimonial truth-telling. These poems speak directly to anyone who has discovered that "till death do us part" involves a lot more mundane moments than anyone warns you about.
Genres: domestic-fiction, humor, contemporary, adult-fiction, poetry, 21st-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Period: 21st-Century
112 pages · Hardcover · G.P. Putnam's Sons