Bill Deemer
B. 1945
Pacific Northwest poet Bill Deemer left high school during his junior year. He published his first poems in Poetry while still a teenager. Influenced by Issa and Basho, Deemer composes spare poems that engage themes of balance and perspective, often with natural imagery and wry humor. He is the author of several collections and chapbooks, including Poems (1964), Diana (1966), A Few for Lew & Other Poems (1974), This is just to say = Das gibt es nur zu sagen (1981, with German translation by Stefan Hyner), and Variations (1999), which was shortlisted for the Oregon Book Award. A revised and expanded version of Variations was published in 2011.
Deemer is the recipient of a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. A 1965 voice recording of Deemer reading his work was archived by the Poetry Center at San Francisco State University. He lives in Eugene, Oregon, and is the brother of poet Charles Deemer.
Deemer is the recipient of a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. A 1965 voice recording of Deemer reading his work was archived by the Poetry Center at San Francisco State University. He lives in Eugene, Oregon, and is the brother of poet Charles Deemer.