Scott Wilkerson, a poet and theorist, enthusiastically shared poetry from his new book "Threading Stone" at Gnu's Room Saturday night.
The 22 listeners sat shoulder to shoulder in the bookstore as they sipped coffee and made requests for poems.
Wilkerson's book is the second publication of Auburn-based publisher New Plains Press.
"I am delighted, of course, to be one of the first, but it is also an extraordinary amount of pressure," Wilkerson said.
John Summerfield, creator and owner of Summerfield Publishing/New Plains Press, said he was impressed in a strange way when he came across Wilkerson's poetry.
"He invited me to his classroom to read my poetry," Summerfield said, "and that's when he let me know he was a poet and I read his manuscript."
Summerfield said he and Wilkerson differ in the poets they admire, but they respect each other's work.
Summerfield said he has known Wilkerson for three years and they have developed a great relationship.
"Scott is a funny guy, a wonderful poet and a great orator," Summerfield said.
Wilkerson, a self-pro-claimed jokester, is a professor at Columbus State University who teaches English Composition and Creative Writing.
He has written poetry for 20 years. "This book is compiled of perhaps three years of work," Wilkerson said.
Some of the poems had been published before, but more than half were written specifically for the book.
Wilkerson shared poems such as "Peter Piper on Sabatical" and "Late View of a Mill Ruin."
Wilkerson said the title of his book comes from his poem, "Labyrinth Studies," in which a character finds himself trapped in a maze, but escapes by following a thread.
"We are all threading our own stones, that's what life is," Wilkerson said. "I believe we are all lost and trying to find our way out of something."
Wilkerson also introduced a character who says what he is too shy to say, named Felix Omega.
"I enjoyed the references to Greek mythology and current interest," said Amber Floyd of Columbus, Ga. "He creates images that stay with you and uses fun little phrases that stick in your brain."
Molly Wright, an English teacher at Columbus State University, said she was impressed with the poems.
"I just bought the last copy they had here," Wright said.
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