Durable Goods: Appreciations of Oregon Poets

Durable Goods contains six thoughtful and insightful essays by Erik Muller in which he explores the work of six Oregon poets: Richard Dankleff, Barbara Drake, Kenneth O. Hanson, Paulann Petersen, Clemens Starck, and Lex Runciman. A photo of the poet, a folio of the poet’s poems, and a bibliography of the poet’s work accompany each essay. Read individually, the essays provide an in-depth look into the work of their respective authors. Read together, the essays add to the existing knowledge of Oregon poetry, providing a richer understanding of the writing in the Pacific Northwest region.

The book is beautifully designed by the award-winning Jonathan Greene.

"If you’ve never felt the delicious shock of discovering in the work of an unsung poet a small masterpiece, this book is for you. In Durable Goods Erik Muller looks deeply into the writing of six marvelous Oregon poets, placing their work in a regional context. He calls his essays "appreciations." Durable Goods will be savored not only by readers of poetry but by all who love the Northwest." John Witte

"No other writer has done more to further the discourse of Oregon poetry than Erik Muller. In Durable Goods, Muller extends his hallmark generosity deep into the work of six of our region’s unique voices. This collection reads as such a book should — like an old friend come back from a lifetime of travel, sitting across the table from you, connecting the stars into their myriad constellations. The adventure here, of course, is to turn a mirror onto the region, to go deep and local, to see how such connections — and disparities — create their meanings and mythologies. In some ways poets are borderless creatures, and in many ways they are harnessed to their times and geographies. Durable Goods exists in the hinterland between the global and regional, and such a big-hearted and sincere assessment of our literature deserves to be celebrated long into the night." Michael McGriff