The Meaning of a Poem

Here is your weekly reminder: A reading by myself and Charles Deemer, along with several guest readers, is scheduled for 7 p.m., Oct. 5, at the Blackbird Wine Shop in N.E. Portland.

CD will read from his recent poetry collection, "In My Old Age," a poignant and oft-hilarious look at, well, aging. He will also read from "Variations," his brother Bill Deemer's recent RBP offering.

I plan to read from my memoir, "A Marvelous Paranoia." In addition, I'll take a stab at the poems in K.C. Bacon's "Morandi's Bottles."

I've lined up two guest readers to tackle the poems in the RBP anthology "Cold Eye," which, I've reaffirmed while coaching the pair, is not an easy book. The poems are demanding, and because the book is a collection of disparate voices, the poets' themes are varied.

It'll take some serious study for my guest readers to find a meaningful interpretation of each poem they choose to read. We'll see how it goes.

I'm looking forward with great anticipation to the Blackbird reading. Join us if you're in Portland that evening.


TS