Lourie marries an odd couple: three-part poetry and the blues

For much of the past 40 years, Dick Lourie has had twin passions: music and poetry.

Beginning as a college student, Lourie has gone on to gain a national reputation as a poet. He’s also a founding and continuing editor of Hanging Loose literary magazine, now in its 33rd year, and of Hanging Loose Press, soon to publish its 100th title.

He’s been a musician even longer, starting as a youthful trumpet player, then becoming a folk guitarist (it was de rigueur in the ’60s) before turning to the tenor saxophone about 20 years ago.

“I was becoming really interested in blues and roots music, and I needed sax, not the trumpet, to get into that kind of music,” Lourie recalled from his office at the University of Massachusetts-Boston.

But it wasn’t until about five or six years ago that he saw the possibilities of wedding poetry and blues.

“In blues verse, there’s a three-part structure,” he explained. “Something is said, gets said again and elaborated upon, and then there’s a conclusion. At the time, I was writing sonnets with a similar structure.”

Lourie has recorded 18 such songs on the CD “Ghost Radio Blues.” He will bring his poetry-blues hybrid to Maine for two readings: at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 1, at Soderberg Auditorium, Jenness Hall, University of Maine, and at 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 2, at Portside, Kimball Hall, University of Maine at Machias.

The 60-ish Lourie now writes poems in 12-line units that will work well with the blues. He’ll then bring in musicians he’s worked with that can improvise.

“When it comes time to put poems to music, I’ll say, ‘Give me an accompaniment with this feeling and this tempo to it,'” he said.

Lourie regularly plays with three small Boston-area bands: the Blue Suede Boppers (1950s rock ‘n’ roll), the G-Clefs (five-part doo-wop) and Six of One (blues, R&B, soul, funk). He’s also earned a standing invitation to sit in with the blues band Big Jack Johnson and the Oilers.

Lourie, who has been known to break out one of his poems in a blues club, hopes his efforts will bring poetry to different people.

“I want people who are interested in music to take this in,” he said.