“And what is a retired poet anyway? I’ve never
heard of a retired poet, not once.”
– Bruce Taylor

Turning the last page on a text: It’s a settling sensation of resolve for readers and writers alike. Most of them, anyway. In the case of Eau Claire’s poet laureate, Bruce Taylor, a thought marked incomplete is nothing much to get broken up over.

Take the ninth and most recent collection of poetry of his accomplished repertoire, In Other Words, as a testament to that statement.

“I don’t consider any of these sections in the book to be done,” Taylor said about the five-chaptered anthology. “I’m an absolutely compulsive reviser. … I’m charmed by the process.”

Granted, locking into a revisionary cycle is an artistic effort in itself. Palimpsest, by definition,  is a fancy term for revising the meaning of a writing by overlaying new words in the original’s place. So it’s only natural this phenomenon has become the overarching theme of Taylor’s work.

“Much more than I ever realized, there’s texts underneath the texts that I’m writing,” Taylor said. “I find the source of inspiration and that leads me to the poem.”

A spark of interest in a subject often initiates an obsession in Taylor; he said his writing process plays out methodically: gathering material, processing, and turning it into poetry.

He’s a sort of headliner for many of the poetic voices of Eau Claire, and yet Taylor’s not secretive about his humble approach to wording.

“Very small words have the potential to make huge statements about the world,” he said with a warm laugh.

“In a broader sense, these poems are about this need we have as humans to attach to something larger and more important and more eternal than ourselves. There’s always been something about the human that reaches toward the divine.”

It’s strange to think a decorated professor of creative writing wouldn’t sound fully sure of himself. But it’s his careful studying and willfully honest approach – deriving impact out of the voice of his subject – that generates such a truthful product.

Collecting inspiration for the first section of five, titled “Encyclopedia of Gardening,” Taylor tore through anthologies, how-tos, and more conventional encyclopedias related to the subject while also searching for ulterior meaning, because “nature poems are obviously never just about nature.”

Whether it be a direct line drawn from his studies or just a thought passing through his mind while reading, Taylor chose to preface each of his poems with a relevant quote.

“I chose the idea of an encyclopedia because when I begin each poem with a quote it gives me all this authority,” Taylor said. “I could write in the voice of an encyclopedia … like I really knew what I was talking about.”

Later, In Other Words delves into divine material, a term Taylor said he has no problem with exploring in his subject matter. But only after studying the writings of a select few monks. “It’s hard to talk directly about God today in poetry,” Taylor said. “It seems people associate religious quotes with something out of a greeting card.”

Channeling the perspective of a devout religious person gave him authority, he said, to achieve more effective storytelling in his poetry. “In a broader sense, these poems are about this need we have as humans to attach to something larger and more important and more eternal than ourselves,” Taylor said. “There’s always been something about the human that reaches toward the divine.”

Nine under the belt, and no signs of slowing from this poet. Taylor recalled sitting in his gym one morning when his plumber approached asking why he was still writing if he’d retired, and if there was much money in poetry.

“No! there’s no money in it whatsoever,” He said. “And what is a retired poet anyway? I’ve never heard of a retired poet, not once.”

Indeed, Taylor is as active a writer as his body and mind will allow. Writing is the first thing he strives to do in the morning, he said, and “you’d have to cut both of his arms off to make that change.”

Catch a little of Bruce’s fever at 7pm Sept. 25 during his poetry reading at the Volume One Gallery. Maybe, if you’re satisfied, yourself, this bright soul will consider a breather.

Bruce Taylor’s In Other Words is available at The Local Store, 205 N. Dewey St.