Poetry. The poems in this volume focus on life's essentials: childhood, the rhythms of family, love for those who are dearest. These themes stand in opposition, often within the same poem, to the darker edges of growing up, the quirks and burdens of history, and the violence of our times, whose horrors are nearer than we want to believe. Other recurring motifs include the ephemeral nature of time and memory, and the inevitability of loss. Poetry, for Edward Harkness, acts as a counterforce against these natural tendencies, against oblivion.

Author City: SEATTLE, WA USA

Ed Harkness grew up in Seattle and still lives not far from his childhood home. He is the author of several poetry chapbooks, including most recently Syringa in Twilight (Red Wing Press, 2010). Saying the Necessary, his first full-length collection, was published by Pleasure Boat Studio in 2000. His poems can be found in print journals including Fine Madness, Great River Review, The Humanist, Midwest Quarterly, Seattle Review and others. His work has also appeared in several pioneering online literary journals, including Mudlark, Switched-on Gutenberg, and Salt River Review. Harkness lives with his wife, Linda, in Shoreline, WA, where he teaches writing at Shoreline Community College. He's the proud father of two grown sons, Devin and Ned.