On a Thursday night back in 2004 one of the men came into James's Gate Pub  with some poems from a book called "Hammer" by poet and carpenter Mark Turpin. Inspired by what they read,  this group of Jamaica Plain carpenters challenged themselves to each write a poem: a poem about their work, a poem about carpentry.

What came next was a poetry night. Nineteen men and women stood up and read about pounding nails, ripping boards, patience, care, and error, the unforgiving measurement, and the generous tree. "All the detail and sweat."  Sometimes folksy, sometimes funny, often beautifully visual, the poems poured forth. Thus was born The Carpenter Poets of Jamaica Plain.

There's much to be said about parallels between writing and carpentry. There's the act of creating something out of common supplies, fitting board to board, word to word, the beauty of the product and the pride in the craft. The house we live in, the poem that lives in us. "We'll never run out of things to say about carpentry" one carpenter explained. "It's such a huge topic."