The Penny Poet of Portsmouth

Towler, a novelist, poet, and religion blogger for the Huffington Post, interweaves a story of friendship with reflections on what it means to be a writer and to belong to a place. Robert Dunn, former poet laureate of Portsmouth, N.H., and a mysterious yet loved member of his community, becomes ill in the early 1990s and reaches out to Towler, his next of kin. Towler’s capacity for compassion is challenged as she cares for Dunn and confronts the possibility of his death. In an honest portrayal of friendship and the artist’s life, Towler generously paints Dunn as an imperfect, dedicated poet and discusses the complicated relationships she shares with family and friends. She examines what it means to commit oneself to the solitude necessary for writing, sometimes in conflict with the responsibility one has to a community. Her vivid descriptions and stories of pre-gentrification Portsmouth make a beautiful elegy to a place where originality was cherished and Dunn’s reclusive, unique spirit was fostered. On Dunn’s unwavering commitment to poetry and Portsmouth, she writes, “Whatever he needed, which wasn’t much, could be found right here. This is the mark of real brilliance, to be profoundly engaged with what is simple and ordinary, and to know it as rich beyond measure.” With eloquent prose, Towler crafts a beautiful portrait of friendship and writing and tenderly, insightfully expresses the lessons she learns through her journey at Dunn’s side. (Mar.)