Ed Harkness and Ann Spiers — 'Creek Water' and 'Wild Cucumber'

Third Place Books welcomes poets Ed Harkness and Ann Spiers to our Lake Forest Park store! Ed will be reading from his new collection, Creek Water, which intertwines observations and lived experiences with musings on history and family. Ann will be reading from her new collection, Wild Cucumber, which delves into local, political, and women's history by way of nature and landscape.

This event is free and open to the public. For important updates, RSVP is highly recommended in advance. This event will include a public signing and time for audience Q&A. Sustain our author series by purchasing a copy of the featured book!

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This event is free to attend. Registration is required in advance.

In Creek Water: New & Selected Poems, Ed Harkness’s ever-attentive eye is in full evidence. These poems shimmer like stones in flowing water as he holds discrete moments up to the light, turning them over, letting them go. Quietly and artfully, they explore parallels between the personal and the historic, setting ordinary details of daily life alongside well and less well-known world events, ranging from the Civil War to the hanging of poet Benjamin Moloise in Pretoria. Whether writing about the joys of a long marriage, fatherhood or grandfatherhood, or the challenge of facing his own mortality, Harkness reminds that history and our lives are made of moments that—when witnessed deeply, generously and compassionately—can transform us. While written over several decades, as a collection, these poems still speak to our current times, to “the world breaking your heart and somehow mending it.”

In the opening lines of Wild Cucumber, Ann Spiers writes, “leaving / I walk left into morning glory / no shortcuts.” In her latest full-length collection, Spiers’s poems reveal intimate human yearning, draping events with the lush and rugged backdrops she travels as girl, woman, mother, grandmother, teacher, lover, hiker, writer, outsider, insider, and in many other voices. Interweaving distinctive imagery of natural and made landscapes with details of local, political, and women’s history, these poems explore the islands, beaches, and volcanoes of the Pacific Northwest; the canyonlands of the Southwest; and visits to Mexico and Thailand. In Wild Cucumber, Spiers invites us along on her enduring journey with no shortcuts offered or needed.

Ed Harkness thinks often of Madeline Defrees and Richard Hugo, his beloved mentors at the University of Montana. Harkness taught English and creative writing at Shoreline College for 34 years. He lives in Shoreline, Washington, with his life mate and cycling partner, Linda. Harkness’ most recent collection, Creek Water: New & Selected Poems, has just been published by Empty Bowl Press.

Ann Spiers lives on Vashon Island, where she served as the island’s first Poet Laureate. She has edited literary journals, produced writing festivals and reading series, judged/selected for contests and residencies, joined panels, served as a county arts commissioner, and was awarded writing residences at UW’s Whiteley Center, Hedgebrook, and Espy Foundation. Her recent book publications are Rain Violent (Empty Bowl, 2021), Back Cut (Black Heron, 2022) and Harpoon (Ravenna Triple No. 16, 2022). She is included in many anthologies. Her poetry chapbooks are What Rain Does (Egress Studio, Bellingham) and Bunker Trail (Finishing Line). Other chapbooks are The Herodotus Poems (Brooding Heron, Waldron Is.), Long Climb into Grace (FootHills, New York), and letterpress editions of Volcano Blue, Tide Turn, and A Wild Taste (May Day Press, Shelton WA).

Founded in 1998 in Lake Forest Park, Washington, Third Place Books is dedicated to the creation of a community around books and the ideas inside them. With locations in Lake Forest Park and Seattle's Ravenna and Seward Park neighborhoods, Third Place Books is proud to serve the entire Seattle metro area. Learn more about their event series at thirdplacebooks.com/events

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