Creating the Poetry House

For more than two decades I had the urge to build a sculpture/building that would be a space for reflection, simplicity and spirit. Years ago, while working on the small nondenomination chapel at Sea Ranch, Calif., construction coordinator Thamby Kumaran told me his dream of building a small temple when he could find time and resources. The idea electrified me and never left. Twenty years later, after selling several large sculptures and coming across some fabulous materials, I gave myself the commission to build a small sacred building.

I've used the word teahouse for years to refer to this project because to me, teahouse connotes essential, everyday simplicity in harmony with nature. But it took a new form when I came upon an eloquent poem by Sonoma State University professor Elizabeth Herron at the Sonoma Mountain Zen Center. It struck me that I was building a "poetry house" rather than a teahouse, even though I had no idea what a "poetry house" would be. Elizabeth agreed to participate on the project, and she wrote a long poem, The Poet's House, which we transcribed under layers of roof and the body of the structure to imbue this small sacred space with verse.

So what is a poetry house? It is a strange hybrid of a building, somewhat larger and more extravagant than a teahouse, but smaller and more humble than a temple; not as practical as a storage shed or as useless as an abandoned truck. Whatever the interpretation, this is how it came together. 

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For additional photos of the Poetry House, see the back cover of Fine Homebuilding issue #196 (June/July 2008).

And for even more information about scultpor Bruce Johnson, including images of his work and additional views of the Poetry House, visit his Web site: http://www.formandenergy.com.