By I met David through his contributions to Exterminating Angel Press: The Magazine, tod davies’ labor of love. From the beginning, I was taken by his poetry and have felt compelled to offer comments on some. From these comments, we connected and shared poems through email. Though we’ve never met or actually spoken, I deeply connect with the sinewy language in his landscapes, with his willingness to wrestle contentious political and social issues, but, most of all, with the intelligent, sensitive, and generous heart and soul that percolate through the lines of his verse.
I’m flattered that David found something interesting in my poetry. I’m happy to share a bouquet of five of my own recent poems:
I grew up in the 50s and 60s next to the Pacific Ocean in L.A. and then in the Wasatch Mountains, in Utah, in ballparks and art museums, in public schools and TV sitcoms and dramas, in trout streams and zen living rooms, in loving family kitchens and rock and roll concerts, Hollywood and ‘foreign’ movies, and libraries’ teeming hoard of words, seeing miracles wherever I looked. You have to admit, this brief flash of life we get is breathtaking.
My wife, Eileen, and I married in 1976, after which we earned MFAs in poetry from Columbia University and PhDs in literature and writing. We have a couple of sons, Jake and Andy, and, now, our first grandson, Simon.
I’ve been teaching literature and writing in a graduate writing program at Towson University in Baltimore since 1984. I published a textbook on workplace writing—Mastering Workplace Writing. As a writing consultant teaching the systems approach to workplace writing I invented, I’ve worked with writers at NASA, the Department of Justice, the Army Research Lab at White Sands Missile Range, and many, many others, including workshops with writers throughout the world.
I also recently published a second book of poems, Your Unfathomable Wardrobe, which is available through Amazon . My poems over the years have appeared in magazines in America, including Ploughshares, The Antioch Review, Poetry Northwest, Poetry East, The Missouri Review, and many others.
©Harvey Lillywhite 2022
a bouquetanthology of poemsExterminating Angel PressHarvey LillywhitemiraclesOther People's FlowersprotestTowson University BaltimoreZen
Alan Horne
June 14, 2022Thanks, Harvey, I very much enjoyed these poems. ‘Protest’ I particularly like, both the sentiment and the way you’ve done the rhythm and verses. And ‘the night’s empty black hat’ is great! Thanks to David for introducing us to your work: I’ll certainly be following it up.
Harvey Lillywhite
June 16, 2022Thank you, Alan!
Mary Clark
August 8, 2022Each of these poems is exquisite, like sparkling glass in mosaics that when viewed from the distance of their endings make a complete picture. I particularly enjoyed ‘Cul-de-sac’ having lived on one in Florida, and, of course, its analogy to one’s life. ‘Protest’ is good, if only the angry grievance people would see others as suffering too. Thank you, David, for bringing this poet to your flower garden.
Harvey Lillywhite
August 9, 2022Hi, Mary. Thanks for your comments. I’ll just add that at the end of ‘Cul-de-Sac’ I was imagining the end of my life. But when I thought of this ultimate closure, the image of a blooming lotus flower suddenly popped into my mind. And why can’t this final closure be pictured as a grand opening? Who knows where these images come from, but I was glad to have it delivered in the nick of time.
Mary Clark
August 9, 2022Harvey, it’s a great image/imagining. Maybe that’s the way it is: closure and disclosure.