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Mother, Don't Lock Me In That Closet!
A collection of haiku, poetry, essays and short stories.
168 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1989
About the author
Harley King
12 books103 followersDuring his more than seventy years on this illustrious planet, Harley King has been gainfully employed as a carpenter, street sweeper, car hop, corn detasseler, hospital orderly, radio announcer, book editor, publisher, freelance writer, bus driver, sports writer, bookkeeper, policy and procedures writer, forms designer, marketing vice-president, corporate executive, professional speaker, facilitator, salesman, trainer, organizational development consultant, ad writer and communications executive. Some jobs he has held for a whole day and others he has held for years. He has also had more than thirty different bosses.
Harley holds a B.A. degree in English, a M.A. in the School of Hard Knocks and is working on a Ph.D. in the Survival of the Unknown Writer.
While Harley grew up in central Illinois, he has managed to visit forty-eight states and has lived in five of them. He has been fortunate to step on the soil of Canada, Mexico, Jamaica and Venezuela. He is currently living in Ohio with his wife of over 40 years.
Harley King has been writing and publishing poetry for over 45 years. He spent 7 years writing only haiku. He has published 12 books of poetry and 2 works of non-fiction.
Harley has been speaking on leadership and customer service for over 30 years. He has delivered more than 5,000 presentations. For one nine year stretch, he averaged over 250 presentations a year.
Harley is a certified Zentangle teacher and creates abstract drawings.
Harley is patiently waiting for the big publisher in the sky to turn his books into best-sellers and his poetry into classical literature.
Harley holds a B.A. degree in English, a M.A. in the School of Hard Knocks and is working on a Ph.D. in the Survival of the Unknown Writer.
While Harley grew up in central Illinois, he has managed to visit forty-eight states and has lived in five of them. He has been fortunate to step on the soil of Canada, Mexico, Jamaica and Venezuela. He is currently living in Ohio with his wife of over 40 years.
Harley King has been writing and publishing poetry for over 45 years. He spent 7 years writing only haiku. He has published 12 books of poetry and 2 works of non-fiction.
Harley has been speaking on leadership and customer service for over 30 years. He has delivered more than 5,000 presentations. For one nine year stretch, he averaged over 250 presentations a year.
Harley is a certified Zentangle teacher and creates abstract drawings.
Harley is patiently waiting for the big publisher in the sky to turn his books into best-sellers and his poetry into classical literature.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 26, 2015
Back in high school English class we were taught about Haiku, a Japanese poetic form consisting of 17 syllables in three lines, unrhymed, in the format 5-7-5. My own feeble attempt was this:
One tennis racket:
A tremendous amount of
Holes strung together.
What brought that to mind is this freebie I received from the author, a book of many Haiku, other poems and short stories. The format of Mr. King’s Haiku is much looser, with the only requirement being the 17 syllables in three lines; the number of syllables per line is flexible. In an introduction, Mr. King explains that a Haiku is a sort of snapshot in time, which may reflect something deeper. And indeed he does so. Many of these are a string of Haiku run together in a larger work. For example, “Empty Playground” describes the birth to tragic death of a child; here is a selection from that one:
Easter journey home:
mother and child asleep
in the back seat…
in the rearview mirror
the road narrows to a point
storm clouds gather
spring storm winds:
waking from feverish sleep
the child cries
the child
so quiet and still in my arms-
a police siren
dawn:
the infant’s cold skin is wet
with the mother’s tears
the grave digger
smokes his last cigarette…
soft spring rain
one by one
daisies are tossed on the casket…
a young mother weeps
Mr. King tackles a number of thorny, complex issues, many of them related to relationships at various levels. Most are serious, but Mr. King is not without a sense of humor. In a chapter called “Friends and Others,” he has a short one called “The Case of the Lost Lover:”
It is late afternoon
when the hero rounds the bend,
his Panama hat pushed back
on his bald head,
his shirt soaked
in sweat and kerosene.
He pulls a switchblade and splits a pear in half.
Now, I do not pretend for a minute that I understand or write poetry other than parodies (I at times fancy myself an older version of Al Yankovic) and at a surface level (poking good-natured fun at friends and relatives). The process of pulling deeper stuff out of oneself and putting it into the spare form of poetry, as does Mr. King, tends to elude me, making his efforts all the more impressive.
There are also a handful of short stories, poignant and existentially humorous. Mr. King adds a chapter on the history of his writing of both poetry and prose, as well as a description of his many, many jobs. The photo of the author on the back cover reminds one of a somewhat bemused combination of Inspectors Clouseau and Gadget. This book is covers the years 1974-1988, and his Goodreads page indicates he’s been as management/healthcare consultant and motivational speaker for 25+ years. A personal communication reveals he has been working off and on for a number of years on a novel about his father and his father’s generation. He has also continued to write voluminous poetry, some as interpretations of various artists (listed on his Goodreads profile), as well as dabbling in art. While he laments that he has not been able to make a living as a full-time writer, he remains committed to creativity as both an avocation and a source of inspiration. Mr. King has also collaborated with his wife on a book related to pet loss, which he has also generously provided gratis. Review coming.
I always appreciate authors’ providing their work for review, free of charge; they’re braver than I. I greatly enjoyed this little book, looking forward to reading other stuff by him.
One tennis racket:
A tremendous amount of
Holes strung together.
What brought that to mind is this freebie I received from the author, a book of many Haiku, other poems and short stories. The format of Mr. King’s Haiku is much looser, with the only requirement being the 17 syllables in three lines; the number of syllables per line is flexible. In an introduction, Mr. King explains that a Haiku is a sort of snapshot in time, which may reflect something deeper. And indeed he does so. Many of these are a string of Haiku run together in a larger work. For example, “Empty Playground” describes the birth to tragic death of a child; here is a selection from that one:
Easter journey home:
mother and child asleep
in the back seat…
in the rearview mirror
the road narrows to a point
storm clouds gather
spring storm winds:
waking from feverish sleep
the child cries
the child
so quiet and still in my arms-
a police siren
dawn:
the infant’s cold skin is wet
with the mother’s tears
the grave digger
smokes his last cigarette…
soft spring rain
one by one
daisies are tossed on the casket…
a young mother weeps
Mr. King tackles a number of thorny, complex issues, many of them related to relationships at various levels. Most are serious, but Mr. King is not without a sense of humor. In a chapter called “Friends and Others,” he has a short one called “The Case of the Lost Lover:”
It is late afternoon
when the hero rounds the bend,
his Panama hat pushed back
on his bald head,
his shirt soaked
in sweat and kerosene.
He pulls a switchblade and splits a pear in half.
Now, I do not pretend for a minute that I understand or write poetry other than parodies (I at times fancy myself an older version of Al Yankovic) and at a surface level (poking good-natured fun at friends and relatives). The process of pulling deeper stuff out of oneself and putting it into the spare form of poetry, as does Mr. King, tends to elude me, making his efforts all the more impressive.
There are also a handful of short stories, poignant and existentially humorous. Mr. King adds a chapter on the history of his writing of both poetry and prose, as well as a description of his many, many jobs. The photo of the author on the back cover reminds one of a somewhat bemused combination of Inspectors Clouseau and Gadget. This book is covers the years 1974-1988, and his Goodreads page indicates he’s been as management/healthcare consultant and motivational speaker for 25+ years. A personal communication reveals he has been working off and on for a number of years on a novel about his father and his father’s generation. He has also continued to write voluminous poetry, some as interpretations of various artists (listed on his Goodreads profile), as well as dabbling in art. While he laments that he has not been able to make a living as a full-time writer, he remains committed to creativity as both an avocation and a source of inspiration. Mr. King has also collaborated with his wife on a book related to pet loss, which he has also generously provided gratis. Review coming.
I always appreciate authors’ providing their work for review, free of charge; they’re braver than I. I greatly enjoyed this little book, looking forward to reading other stuff by him.
January 27, 2010
Go Harley! This book starts with Haiku--many of them sort of linked--and then moves on to longer and longer poems (including hairless ceramic cats & a sort of playful zen approach that doesn't become too hipsterish) and then stories. The beginning of COUNTRY CHARM is classic. Some of the vignettes in longer poems are reminiscent of David Budbill's work.
February 23, 2015
If you would like a copy to read and review, please email me and I will send you a free copy. Still in print.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews