Kelen has the uncanny ability to disappear into a poem, lose his self, and achieve a directness of language and vision that seduces the willing reader into doing the same

Jeff Hodges in The New England Review

something of a virtuoso performance..... an Australian poet of considerable stature, whose best work, I suspect, is yet to come

John Knight, Social Alternatives

an intriguingly rich collection... I, for one, look forward eagerly to where he goes from here... He is already atop an impressive coastal range and we can hear his coo-ee splendidly.

Tom Shapcott in Text

typically innovative and intellectually sharp

The Oxford Companion to Australian Literature

One of Australia's most exciting and accomplished younger poets

Philip Mead, University of Melbourne

a rich mix that grows, with successive readings, into something rewarding..... strong and eloquent

Martin Duwell, The Australian

Perhaps it's only now at the beginning of the third century of white colonisation that an authentic Australian voice can be heard. Kelen's is one such voice - rich with contradiction, diversity and detail, giving a complex and troubling view of Australia

John Tranter

reminiscent of some parts of Ashbery - what handling of flashy language and helter-skelter rhythmic drives. These pages dazzle with their own delight; one transferred to the reader. Yes, they're fun - a bitingly satyrical fun - and there's nothing wrong with that

Jeff Doyle, Canberra Times

This collection marks another level of attentiveness in Kelen's work. His poems have always delighted with their wordplay, cryptic lyricism and wry wisdoms. Now he moves closer still to the natural world that so absorbs him, close enough to smell its breath, to comprehend its agency.

Judy Johnson

In Kit’s poems, we are treated to a sensibility tuned to the wonders of the world. Words are Kit’s work and his play, and he plays and works with them with an uncanny blend of skill, intuition and serendipity.

Jean Kent

infused with an awareness of global concerns... imaginative, creative and fun

Alison Bartlett, Australian Book Review

"powerful, distinctive and in tune" 'The Naming of the Harbour and the Trees' is a powerful book that deserves a wide readership. Kelen has a distinctive voice and a highly tuned ear. He has a surefootedness in a world made slippery

Keith Russell, Newcastle Herald

In this new collection he has become a bold namer of mountains who wears the rain like a hat because he knows that everything that lives has once upon a time been water.

Peter Kirkpatrick