The 39th Printers Row Lit Fest (PRLF) will be taking place on September 7-8, 2024, at Printers Row Park, 620 S Dearborn St (Ida B Wells & Polk). Presented by the not-for-profit Near South Planning Board, the PRLF is a one-of-a-kind and community-based event that draws over 100,000 attendees, as well as 100-plus booksellers and 200-plus authors.
The two-day open-air festival will be abounding the book exhibits displaying a wide range of mind-bending, insightful, and compelling books in various genres by diverse authors. There are also book signings, panel discussions, and other programs that should catch the attention of the most passionate book lovers.
ReadersMagnet will be exhibiting at the Printers Row Lit Fest for the second time and displaying an array of books written by some of the brightest, boldest, and finest storytellers the world has yet to know. One book that attendees top the PRLF 2024 should not miss when visiting the ReadersMagnet exhibit is the book of poems by Jere Truer, “Orpheus and Chiron Getting Coffee.”
“Orpheus and Chiron Getting Coffee” is a book of poems about the author's long relationship with his wife – how they were tragically separated for 40 years, how they struggled in their years apart, and how they reconnected.
“I fell deeply and truly in love with a girl named Monica Schurtz in 1972,” said Jere in the preface of his book. “I was nineteen, and she was seventeen at the time. We faced severe obstacles, which ultimately resulted in us being forced apart for forty years. I searched in vain for her at times while also trying to move on with my life. She was unfindable, and there was no internet then.
“Over those years, I wrote many poems and songs about her. And I never forgot her.”
It was only when Jere was turning sixty that he felt compelled to find her, and where else than on Facebook. “This book of poems demonstrates how she has been my muse all along,” said the author.
The story of their meeting and their eventual reunion is told in “Orpheus and Chiron Getting Coffee.” A series of current love poems is interspersed. A third section, called “Mandolin Poems,” has an Asian/meditative feel and the subject is love. A fourth section is about healing, hence the reference to Chiron, the ancient Greek god who is the “wounded healer.” It is inferred in the that there is a correspondence between Orpheus, who lost his lover Eurydice to the Underworld, and Chiron, the wounded healer. The final poem, “Coffee,” is an ode to that conversation.
Jere's deep longing for his muse for 40 years speaks of a devotion that is rarely heard of and is a testament that true love exists. Every person should witness such deep affection through the beauty of poetry in the author's story.
Purchase a copy of Jere Truer's “Orpheus and Chiron Getting Coffee,” available in paperback, hardcover, and eBook on Amazon. Visit the ReadersMagnet exhibit at the 2024 Printers Row Lit Fest to check out the book's display.
“Orpheus and Chiron Getting Coffee”
Author: Jere Truer
Book Genre: Poetry
Publisher: Kindle Direct Publishing/Amazon
Published Date: June 06, 2024
Author's Biography:
Jere Truer is a poet, songwriter, and storyteller who made his living as a psychotherapist. He spent his first six decades in Minnesota, then moved to Colorado and then Arizona after reconnecting with his wife, Monica. He also teaches psychology at a graduate school in the Twin Cities and plays guitar with a group of local musicians in Yuma, AZ.
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