Rod McKuen - A Safe Place to Land

Comments on “Rod McKuen - A Safe Place to Land”

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1. Vanessa on August 20, 2004 12:06 PM

   I would never have put Rod McKuen on a family site. His subjects are not what I would want chikdren to see.

2. Ken Blackie on September 9, 2004 04:35 AM

   My name is Ken Blackie and I run the McKuen web site out of Johannesburg, South Africa. I stumbled across this review via a link in the daily Lockergnome newsletter.

   Rich - I'm glad you liked the site and many thanks for the plug. We've been on-line for almost seven years now and it still amazes me how many people are only now finding their way to us. This in spite of being listed on all the major search engines.

   Vanessa - in some ways I agree with your sentiments. Some of Rod's work is not suitable for children, make no mistake about that. However, his earlier work is taught in American schools and we get a lot of requests from pupils asking for input on projects they're undertaking.

   One of the many reasons we started the site in the first place was to introduce Rod's work to a new, younger audience and judging from the response we appear to be getting there.

   I'd have no problem exposing my daughters to the majority of Rod's work. He's made a great contribution to both the literary scene as well as the entertainment scene and all Americans should be proud of him for doing so.

3. Alan on September 9, 2004 07:39 PM

   My first exposure to Rod Mckuen was in 1970 in Juneau, AK when a friend, who's brother was a DJ on the radio station there gave me two demo albums of Rod's that his brother refused to play on the air. Needless to say (but I will anyway) I was hooked. Having written three unpublished books of poetry myself, ala Lawrence Ferlinghetti or so I thought at the time, that recieved rave reviews from my friends while in a state of altered consciousness, I imagined myself a poet. The passion of youth burned brightly on my pages until
   a chance encounter in 1971 with a Greyhound Bus Station locker in Boone, NC ended all those aspirations when half way to Chicago I realized that they were still in it. The saving grace of that adventure (mis) was that Rod's albums were in the backpack that we all carried while on the road in those days and thus I survived. In my opinion, anyone who can retain their passion and continue to put that passion into poetry throughout the years of their life without becoming jaded is truely a special human being. I believe Rod McKuen is just that.

4. Richard Dean on October 27, 2005 11:46 PM

   Responding to Ken Blackie. I first heard of Rod McKuen when he was nominated for an academy award for "Jean" in 1969. I was fourteen then nad intersted in most things to do with the movies and had also started writing songs by then. I was interested in this man who I had never heard of but who had written such a good song. Someplace Green had been a big hit in Australia for another artist and I had also been unaware of Rod's connection with Sinatra. On a hitchhiking trip to North Queensland in 1973 I crashed at a friend's home. He happened to have Greatest Hits Vol 2 which incidentally had "Jean" on it. Listening to the whole album I was hooked and have remained so ever since. I have just discovered Rod's official website and am looking forward to catching up with what he's been up to. I have seen him twice in concert, once in Brisbane in 1976 and once in Sydney in 1982.

   Richard Dean

5. jennifer Ruiz on December 5, 2005 01:37 PM

   Rodney,
   Hello, My name is Jennifer and I am 25 and, I looked up about yourself. I found stuff about your father and all, but not much about your mom or brothers for that matter. Can you let me know just a little about them. I am doing a presentation about you in school. It is on your poetry from Lonesome Cities. (I loved the book by the way!) :)

6. jennifer Ruiz on December 5, 2005 01:37 PM

   Rodney,
   Hello, My name is Jennifer and I am 25 and, I looked up about yourself. I found stuff about your father and all, but not much about your mom or brothers for that matter. Can you let me know just a little about them. I am doing a presentation about you in school. It is on your poetry from Lonesome Cities. (I loved the book by the way!) :)

7. Rebbeca on September 14, 2006 05:46 PM

   My mom loves your poetry and every since I was 11 I have been writing poems. I love your style and the way you write, it is awesome because you give a descriptive idea of what you're talking about without being blunt about it. Rock On!!