Body and Soul (Pirogue Publishing, 1987) “The physical in Julie Kane’s poems is so intensely, humanly physical that it shines, a shining that attracts the feelings and lights the mind.” -- A. R. Ammons “I like Julie Kane’s graceful and mordant poems for their wit, poise, and fullness of feeling, their clarity and directness. Best of all I like the way that something can be seen shining through even the most melancholy of them—I think it may be the rapt happiness of the maker.” -- William Matthews “Julie Kane’s poems have at times the fierce intensity of childhood, and then the wit and affectionate toughness of a woman. But always they show and advanced and advancing craft. Her lines . . . leave an afterimage that becomes delight, in their directness, in their truth. Her gift for the telling detail is superb, and her knowledge of human paradox a gift to readers . . . . I am moved with admiration.” -- Robert Morgan “It’s a wonderful book.” -- George Starbuck “Can any good thing come out of Louisiana, where reading poetry is a faux pas and writing it is damn near criminal? Julie Kane’s first full-length collection—which houses poems that are indelible, edible, and simultaneously credible and incredible—answers with a hyperbolic affirmative . . . . Kane, who must here be unmasked as a transplanted Yankee hailing from Boston, confidently presents herself as Louisiana’s petite de Toqueville, for she surely allows natives ‘to see ourselves as others see us’. . . . Kane revels in the dialectical swing of the world and invites her readers to join in the dance. If you enjoy poets who know their art, you’ll want to own this wonderful book.” -- Norman German in The Chiron Review “Especially strong are Kane’s poems with Louisiana settings . . . . It seems as though Kane, with her New England background, is able somehow to look at Louisiana in a way that picks out details a native might miss.” -- Glenn Swetman in Louisiana Literature “A native of the Northeast, Kane has lived in Louisiana for the past decade. This collection is a beautiful plume in the bedraggled culture bonnet of her adopted state . . . . Reading Kane’s poems makes me realize how words can find their meanings despite a crude commercial culture that grinds them to transparency.” -- Richard Kilbourne in the Baton Rouge Advocate “It’s a beautiful book . . . . Julie Kane’s off-the-wall imagery and gutsy sensitivity will take you back to the world, body and soul.” -- Rich Jörgensen in Small Press Review