The Dust of Everyday Life An Epic Poem of the Pacific Northwest [Paperback]

Spanning the years 1853–1933—beginning with conveyance by oxcart and ending with air travel—this series of dramatic monologues tells the story of Helen Walsh and Thomas Hodgson, whose families trekked the trails of the great migration to the West. Helen and Thomas get married, and together, tame the remote corners of the wilderness by means of their imperishable love and a clear, well-beaten path.

Jana Harris teaches creative writing at the University of Washington and at the Writer’s Workshop in Seattle. She is an editor of Switched-on Gutenberg: A Global Poetry Journal, and the author of the memoir Horses Never Lie About Love and the poetry collection You Haven’t Asked About My Wedding or What I Wore: Poems of Courtship on the American Frontier.  Next  

In Praise of Jana Harris
“The voice of Jana Harris is unique in American poetry.” —Alicia Ostriker, poet and author ofStealing the Language
 
“Harris has a singular, compassionate clarity, tells a story the only way it’ll ever make sense, and knows where and who she is always. Her poems are all hers.” —Robert Creeley, Robert Frost Medal–winning poet
 
“Harris had combined the resources of the poet and the scholar into something new.” —Marge Percy, author ofGone to Soldiers