A POET OF ALL SUBJECTS. Bruce Taylor, Eau Claire’s former poet laureate, writes about all the things that make humans tick in newest poetry collection.

As a professor emeritus of English and former poet laureate of the City of Eau Claire, Bruce Taylor is no stranger to the Chippewa Valley’s literary scene.If his name on the cover of his latest collection doesn’t capture your attention, the title, Poetry Sex Love Music Booze & Death, will surely draw you in. With a release date of Oct. 1, the book contains all the stuff that makes life great, or at least livable: cigarettes, indoor cats, local bars, and sub-zero winter nights. Keeping true to its title, the book includes a fair amount of kissing and a nod to teenage love.

About half my poems have historically found themselves taking what might be ‘traditional forms.’ This collection brings together many of those poems in one volume for the
first time. Bruce Taylor

“About half my poems have historically found themselves taking what might be considered more ‘traditional forms,’” Taylor said. “This collection brings together many of those poems in one volume for the first time.” While there are several references to middle-aged men, and even a four-movement poem devoted to this demographic, Taylor’s book has broad appeal. The holidays are just around the corner (wink, wink), and now you know what to get your flannel-wearing, wood-chopping uncle who insists that poetry isn’t for him.

Bruce Taylor will be reading from his new book on Monday, Oct. 8, from 5-6 p.m. at the Volume One Gallery, 205 N. Dewey St., Eau Claire.