The Best Book Group Ever!

They're my first!

      I admit it; I was nervous. This was a dream I had nourished for a  long time: to be the guest author at a book group. My novelist friends would recount stories of smart readers and beautiful food; they had been treated like royalty by interesting people that admired their work. Really, what could be a better way to spend an evening?

   Of course it is not the norm for book groups to embrace poetry. It's the adventurous group that takes on poetry and doubles the adventure by inviting the poet.

    I studied hard before the meeting to make sure I knew the answers to their questions. Where did the name "Imagining My Life with Lions" come from? And what about the tilde ~ that appears throughout the book?

    The Alchemist's Kitchen will only be my new book for another six months and so how lovely to return to it again for such a close reading.

    Most of all I am thankful for small groups of smart readers that come together for poetry. The group members were not poets; they were scientists, painters, travelers, and one novelist. They are my new best friends. In hearing their responses to my work the poems were born anew with fresh life breathed into them.

    Thank you Bainbridge readers from the bottom of my heart for an evening of smart conversation, personal responses, and gorgeous food (including garden picked kale). You were my first book group and I bow to your generous hearts.

   If you are in a book group or want to do a book themed dinner party, find out more about bringing one of ten northwest poets to your table at A Poet At Your Table.