I'd say Paul Hunter is probably best known for his farmer's poetry, detailing and honoring the everyday tasks and stories of rural life. I also haven't seen a single poem of his that uses punctuation. This style of writing irks me to read at first, but a second look lets me see line after line of beautiful fragments or phrases.
I had the privilege last winter to meet Paul Hunter and visit his house with my poetry class. It's a cozy one, his house, built on a steep hill of the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle. His home is lived-in, full of things collected over time. Taking the creaky steps down to his basement and carefully edging around stacks of boxes, brimming shelves, instruments and tools, we crowded around his workspace where he does his wood carving and runs his own printing press (Wood Works Press).
Hunter is just as welcoming as his home. Friendly, full of advice, a great reading voice, and an endearing graying mustache.
Things I saw at Paul Hunter's house, a list:
large paintings of men walking down the street
stacked cans of ink sorted by color
a variety of wooden chairs in the living room
oriental rugs on a hardwood floor
a cartoon of a bull shitting, with an X drawn over it (think about it)
a sketch of something that looked like a hand
printing presses, at least three, each about 100 years old
a wall of framed poems (by other poets)
a record collection collecting dust
an unfinished wood carving clamped beneath a light
To listen to Paul Hunter talk about and read his poetry and to see some of his house (specifically his porch and his basement), watch the Online NewsHour's interview.
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1 comment:
I like the list. I also like lap slide guitar. Sometimes I think of under-punctuation as a way of opening things up for the reader, like indeterminate notation. All I'm reading now is William Blake, so be prepared for some cuttings of Proverbs of Hell.
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