John Kvapil and his four Cell mates—Larry Jabobs, Don Kunz, Peter Lovering and John Martin—will read their work at the Downtown Bend Library on Sunday, January 11, for Second Sunday, the library’s monthly celebration of the written word. The reading is free and open to the public, and books will be available for sale.
Don’t think otherwise: the five men who make up the High Desert Poetry Cell are most definitely all about the poetry. But throughout their seven years together, the dinners, wine and camaraderie have been a big bonus. “Gourmet meals, under-$10-a-bottle wine and ribald life observations—why would anybody in their right mind not do this?” asks Cell member John Kvapil.
The High Desert Poetry Cell released their first collection, The Guys Big Book of Poetry, in 2010. In it, the men deal with love, relationships, fathers, loss—and a little sarcasm about some sacred cows. The group went on to release The Guys’ Home Relationship Maintenance and Improvement Manual in 2011. They have plans to release a third collection in spring of 2015.
“Working in a group is like asking a jazz ensemble and what they get out of playing together,” says Kvapil. “It makes it all happen,” he continues, “from the incentive to produce, to the voices of the other members of the ensemble as they critique and inspire and as we read collectively together.”
Kunz says working as part of a group gives him a built-in test audience before he sends something out for publication. “It’s advice which I appreciate but feel comfortable ignoring if I choose to, realizing that none of the group will hold that against me,” he says. “The magic of our readings together is that we pretty much wing it and then discover that what we have done all fits together in some unforeseen way,” Kunz adds.
Larry Jacobs is a real estate broker in Bend, Oregon, and spends too little time fly fishing. Don Kunz is a retired English Professor who now volunteers with Bend Area Habitat for Humanity, specializing in de-construction. John Kvapil was design architect for the Bend Title Building and the Tower Theatre in Bend; in 1972-73 he picked oranges south of Valencia, Spain. Peter Lovering is a retired homebuilder/carpenter, a former biology instructor, a recovering tavern owner and a full-time husband, grandfather and volunteer. John Martin found a translucent arrowhead in the Sierra two summers ago. He has a very good recipe for Spamburgers and knows a surefire cure for the hiccups, if anyone’s interested.
For more information about this or other library programs, please visit the library website at www.deschuteslibrary.org. People with disabilities needing accommodations (alternative formats, seating or auxiliary aides) should contact Liz at 541-312-1032.
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