The omnipresent Norbert Krapf

Indiana's poet laureate is Norbert Krapf, and I can't escape him. He's everywhere!

I first encountered him this summer at a jazz and poetry performance at the newly-renovated Indianapolis Central Library (he's a fan of jazz...more on that later). Shortly thereafter, I visited one of my favorite used bookstores Bookmamas (regrettably, one of the very few independent bookstores left in Indianapolis), only to see him on a poster: he was going to be there the next day for a book signing event.

I started a jazz appreciation class three weeks ago (taught by Monika Herzig, a local jazz performer/instructor/arranger/etc/etc/etc, who I had also seen for the first time at the library performance), only to discover that Mr. Krapf was sitting in on the class, having been a student of Monika's during a previous semester.

The following week, I started a creative writing class (instructed by Andy Murphy, another local gem), who was promoting the Indy BookTalk Conference. Prominently featured on the handout was, of course, one Norbert Krapf.

I've resigned myself to the fact that I can't escape him, so I'm feeding him bad ideas for poetry in hopes he uses them to ill effect and is driven from town by a frenzied crowd with torches and pitchforks. So far, I've given him a line about poetry and jazz being like cockroaches and rats: difficult, if not impossible, to completely kill off.

I'm not holding my breath on this strategy working.