Friends of Holm to read his last work

By Laurie Hertzel

"The Chain Letter of the Soul: New and Collected Poems," the latest collection of poetry by Bill Holm, will be celebrated at 7 p.m. Nov. 2 at Plymouth Congregational Church, 1900 Nicollet Av. S., Minneapolis.

Holm's longtime editor and friend Emilie Buchwald will read, as will Robert Bly, Jim Heynen, Daniel Slager, John Calvin Rezmerski and others. No admission fee, but a freewill offering will be taken, with proceeds donated in Holm's memory to the Friends of the Minneota Library, Big Store/Library Renovation Project in Holm's hometown of Minneota, Minn.

"The Chain Letter of the Soul" was in the works before Holm's death and was published posthumously by Milkweed Editions. Here's one short poem from the collection, reprinted with permission:

"Under Holdrege, Nebraska"

I skip stones into billowing Nebraska wheat

as if it were a rolling golden ocean.

it cuts into a breaker and sinks.

No telling how far that stone will drop.

Also ...

•A gala fundraiser (and 25th- anniversary party) for Coffee House Press at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Press, 79 N.E. 13th Av., Mpls., will feature Edward Sanders, Beat poet, activist and co-founder of the Fugs. Authors David Mura, Alexs Pate, Kao Kalia Yang and others will be on hand, as well. Also: a silent auction, antique letterpress demonstration (and a free broadside), music (the Four Deuces) and refreshments. Tickets are $40. Reservations required at www.coffeehousepress.org or to Emily@coffeehousepress.org.

•"The Twins at the Met," by Bob Showers, with an introduction by Joe Soucheray, has been published by Beaver's Pond Press. It contains hundreds of vintage photographs and covers the first 21 seasons of Twins baseball in Minnesota.

•This week's literary scavenger hunt question: In 1898, a 13-year-old boy named Harry ran away from his Minnesota home to serve as a drummer boy in the Spanish-American war. He didn't make it out of Sauk Centre that day, but later, as the first American to win a Nobel Prize for literature, he traveled widely. What was his name?