D. S. POORMAN

WOOD CRAFTSMAN  *  POET  *  BOOK SMITH  *  NOVELIST

D.S. Poorman, the pen name of David Scott Baker, published three novels during his life, Macky Dunn’s Got Nothing to Lose (1999), Once Removed (2011) and Somewhere There’s A Place (2014). A woodcraftsman and a book smith, D.S. designed and crafted wooden books, including the Largest Poetry Book in the World, and The Book of America (an unfinished project that was to collect handwritten poems by poets across the country). Many of his wooden books have been collected by University of Louisville’s Ekstrom Library Rare Book Collection. In 2001, D.S. Poorman and Kent Fielding produced and hosted Insomniacathon, the largest music/poetry festival in Kentucky history, lasting over 82 non-stop hours and featuring over 150 poets and 100 bands. The festival raised money for the Franciscan Shelter House in downtown Louisville. D.S. Poorman and Kent Fielding also edited The Book of Kentucky (2001), a large metal book weighing twenty pounds, containing handwritten poems by many of Kentucky’s best- known writers. The Book of Kentucky is also housed at Ekstrom Library.