Luther Metke - Later Life and Poetry

Later Life and Poetry

In 1967, Metke settled in Camp Sherman, Oregon, on the Metolius River. By then he was known in Central Oregon as a rugged individualist, an environmentalist and a master builder of fine log cabins. No one suspected however, that Metke was also a poet, and for a good reason: he seldom shared his poetry, never attempted to publish it and shied away from his public image. In fact, he had little regard for poets—"Poems I write have a meaning; they're not about babbling brooks and such"—or for newspaper and television reporters, claiming "they want to make a hero out of somebody that has no business being one". Though it is unknown when Metke started writing poetry, he claimed he started in the 1970s as a means to communicate with his grandchildren. His poems touched on issues such as man's relationship with God, nature and aging. His poems are not regarded as exceptional by literary standards, but express with crushing clarity a way of life that was his and that has vanished: living in harmony with God and nature. Only 12 of his poems have ever been published—these were presented in a documentary—his other poems were destroyed late in his life.