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In perhaps the largest, most eclectic volume of previously unpublished poetry in the history of Pacific Northwest literature, Matt Love presents 148 poems written over a 30-year span.

As he writes in the introduction to A Substantial but Incomplete Autobiography in Poems, “I have organized this collection into six categories: Ocean, Love, My Life, Oregon Tavern Age, Homelessness, Probation. These poems serve as a substantial but incomplete autobiography.”

“Confessionals, odes, scatological doggerel, polemics, tankas, haiku, prose, psalms, requiems, observations, love letters, lamentations, lyrics, stream of consciousness, meditations, lists, riffs, a eulogy, a sermon, a commencement speech, found poetry, tributes, elegies. I threw it all into an ancient cement mixer and hand cranked that concrete beast while watching blue herons undulate overhead and drinking red wine as the husky snoozed in his dirt fort. The result: A Substantial but Incomplete Autobiography in Poems, something merging where Charles Bukowski, Richard Hugo, Mary Oliver and Liz Phair blend together.”

None of Love's poems were ever submitted to poetry journals, contests or magazines, making this collection a true renegade project of passion and readable to any denizen of a coastal dive bar.

On Raking Leaves (Part 2)

On Raking Leaves (Part 1)

Some Oregon Reporting Questions to Ask

Random Coffee Shop Novel Notes

A Recent Conversation with My Father

River Coffee Shop Novel Notes

Oregon City on the Mind

Rain Coffee Shop Novel Notes

Christian Coffee Shop Notes

Youngs Bay Wine Shop Notes

Meditations on a Dump Run (Part 3)

Meditations on a Dump Run (Part 2)

Meditations on a Dump Run (Part 1)

Oregon Tavern Age: Summer Afternoon

Oregon Tavern Age: Fishing

Oregon Tavern Age: Anxiety

Oregon Tavern Age: Dive Bar Disquisition

Oregon Tavern Age: Empire Firsts

Oregon Tavern Age: Unions

Oregon Tavern Age: Talking Turkey

The Last Oregon Campfire

Youngs Bay Coffee Shop—Late Summer

In Dubious Camper or Wearing Hubris Like a Medal (Part 4)

In Dubious Camper or Wearing Hubris Like a Medal (Part 3)

In Dubious Camper or Wearing Hubris Like a Medal (Part 2)

In Dubious Camper or Wearing Hubris Like a Medal (Part 1)

Before School–A Poem (February 18, 2010)

Swallows In My Garage–A Poem (2007)

Brine on the Mind–A Poem

The Hummingbird and Lint–A Poem

Artifacts Upon Artifacts–A Poem (March 2010)

A Crow’s Wink–A Poem

Youngs Bay Coffee Shop on a Summer Morning

Thoughts on Glen and Other Subjects

Random Probation Office Thoughts

Waves and Beaches—The Book

Beaverwood Paradise

On My New Friends

The Coffee Shop Novel Continues

Moments Along a River