Winter Has Lasted Too Long

by James Kavanaugh

Book by Kavanaugh, James J.

Genres: Poetry

96 pages, Paperback

First published June 25, 1977

About the author

James Kavanaugh was ordained and actively ministered for ten years as a Catholic Priest before attending Catholic University in Washington D.C. Working on his second doctoral degree, he wrote an article for the Saturday Evening Post, entitled, "I am a Priest, and I want to marry." The article questioned the practice of celibacy among priests. The year was 1967, the height of the sexual revolution. Although it was written under a pseudonym and even his closest friends and family were not aware of the author, it was received with such commotion and outrage, the secret would not be kept for long. Jim then exploded onto the American scene with A Modern Priest Looks At His Outdated Church. The New York Times called it "a personal cry of anguish that goes to the heart of the troubles plaguing the Catholic Church." Soon Simon and Schuster came calling with a book deal.

Though a gifted scholar, with degrees in psychology and religious philosophy, James took a leave of absence from the priesthood, packed his VW bug and headed for California to write books. Jim surrendered his priestly collar and doctoral robes to become a gentle revolutionary.

Forty years ago in a decrepit New York residence hotel, Kavanaugh rejected lucrative offers to write what publishers wanted. "Feasting", he laughs, "on bagels, peanut butter, and cheese whiz", he wrote his first poetry book, There Are Men Too Gentle To Live Among Wolves. The book was turned down by a dozen publishers, only to sell over a million copies.

Wayne Dyer captures his power:

"James Kavanaugh is America's poet laureate. His words and ideas touch my soul. I can think of no living person who can put into words what we have all felt so deeply in our inner selves."

A dozen poetry books followed, as well as powerful novels, prose allegory and his best-selling Search, a guide for personal joy and freedom. The rebel priest became the people's poet, singing songs of human struggle, of hope and laughter, of healing that comes from within. James Kavanaugh possesses a charisma that excites audiences with passion and humor. He loves wandering, tennis and trout fishing, the cities and wilderness, people and solitude.

Reviews

[Chris · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is one of those books that should never have been written. Contains unnecessary direct references to penis size, orgasms, blowing your head off in the basement, and other embraces of hedonism and chaos. Claiming that "it's not enough to provide a better world for our children", if your kids read it they might need psychological counseling afterward. There's a poem that seems to be about child abuse, a child who will never smile again having lost their innocence with silent screams. Concluding "But what does it matter? It was only a child's hope." But no mention that this was wrong or an injustice. The author certainly needed psychological help.

So when your child innocently picks up this book from the "free" shelf at the library, let them watch you have a book burning. Remember, books are not good by default. There are bad books with wrong messages that deceive the world and the people in it; books that spew harmful thoughts written by souls who have lost their way and embraced darkness. This is one such book.

[Robert Beveridge · Rating 1 out of 5]

James Kavanaugh, Winter Has Lasted Too Long (Dutton, 1977)

I can't remember where I picked up Winter Has Lasted Too Long, my first (and, if there is any justice in the world, my last) encounter with James Kavanaugh, but if I ever do remember I will be sure to avoid that place in the future. Most of this is poetry of that earnest-but-amateur formal verse that normally (and rightly) gets termed “doggerel”, but every once in a while Kavanaugh goes really off the rails and attempts free verse. While I've only read this one book, I'm pretty certain about it when I say that there's a parallel here: it's when he goes off into free verse that message rolls over medium with all the force of a bulldozer.

“There is an integrity deep within some few persons
That will seldom be noticed or clearly acknowledged,
An honesty more demanding than any ethic
Enacted by lawgivers or preached by prophets,
Touching the very reaches of one's own being
Without regard for education or station in life...”

A page plus of this, then he ends the poem with

“The search continues, for it has been decided
That only such can save the city.”
(--”To Save the City”)

What city? Where? We are told absolutely nothing about it. I've seen (and reviewed) many, many examples of message poetry, but I don't think I've ever seen one quite this incompetent. It's all kind of endearing, really, or it would be if there were any humor to be found in this book at all; instead, it's tiresome and plodding, one hundred plus pages of this sort of silliness, though most of it at least rhymes.

Absolutely horrendous. I can only suggest it as a cure for either insomnia or constipation, though you run the risk of having both cured at the same time, and that would be as much a disaster as this awful book. (zero)