Portlander Doug Trotter Builds Poetry Posts
Two years ago, Doug Trotter, a handyman with a background in woodworking and forestry, had never heard of poetry boxes. That all changed when a neighbor asked him to build one.
Trotter’s neighbor explained that on her daily walks in NE Portland, she would come across these various "posts" buried in people’s front yards — much like the post on a real estate sign. Each post held a clear box displaying copies of poetry on loose papers free for the taking. Trotter checked them out and then created his own version, which he now dubs a “Poetry Post.”
Working out of a small but tidy shop next to his house, Trotter fashions his boxes using old wood from recycled fence boards. The wood is aged, and covered in algae, but he likes his boxes to look rustic, intentionally choosing the pieces with knots and other imperfections in order to add charm and character.
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To date, Trotter has made 67 poetry pPosts for enthusiasts located all over Portland. He has even had requests to ship his boxes out of state, as well as one inquiry from a woman in Switzerland who had seen one of Trotter's posts during her travels in Oregon. Some of Trotter’s customers are poets — such as Oregon Poet Laureate Paulann Peterson.
"I have mine [poetry post] set up so that passersby can both read a poem and take a copy of that poem, if they wish," says Peterson. "I continue to be startled by how quickly those copies disappear!"
"It's become a fixture in our neighborhood," she adds. "People check it when they pass to see if there's a new poem.
Building poetry posts is a part-time job for Trotter, which he enjoys because he meets people from all walks of life. Although Trotter doesn’t write much poetry of his own, he does like reading it, and he feels deeply satisfied by how excited his customers are to drop their first poems into his homemade poetry posts.
© 2011 OPB
