TABLES AND CHAIRS Poems and Writings Contemporary Commentary, Humor and Human Interest Stories, Poems and Writings In Tables and Chairs, Shaffer takes readers to the ends of a spectrum that runs from smart choppy essays on contemporary issues he chooses to relate to in a very personal way to ambitious observations of the natural world, the material world and his comings and goings. No subjects are out of bounds; no themes or styles are imposed. Unable to avoid describing inanimate objects and situations with anthropomorphic humor and finesse, he plays with language that takes us on an imaginative trek to the sublime and the ridiculous stopping along the way at clever and curious.