Harley King
Medium’s Poet Extraordinaire
When Dr Mehmet Yildiz challenged us to write testimonials for writers we admire, I immediately thought of Harley King. I remembered reading “The Anatomy of A Poet” and went back and read it again. If you haven’t read it, I encourage you to do so. Harley is a truly creative writer who, like most of us, writes for the pure joy of writing. He says he gets a lot of fulfillment out of writing, even if no one reads it.
Though he’s been publishing in various magazines and anthologies for many years, he says all his earnings “would not keep me in coffee for a week.” I’ve a feeling he may be a little modest or maybe, like me, he drinks way too much coffee.
On his Instagram page, Harley says
I choose to plant seeds of hope in the hearts of creative and compassionate people.
He certainly does that for me. He also inspires me to write and to write better, to write and re-write.
Harley says
Whether I am writing poetry or drawing abstract art, I have a strong need to be creative. While I share my work with others and appreciate their positive responses, I have learned to be thankful for the process of creation itself. Creating poetry and art makes me feel happy. For me, writing has been my spiritual path. Writing has helped me find my way through the chaos and despair in this world.
Harley’s writing also helps others find their way “through the chaos and despair….”
When he was forty, Harley says he wrote these words
“I identify with being a writer. It is who I am. I don’t see myself as a business man. That is the theatrical mask I wear to pay the bills. But after the performance is over, the mask comes off. My writing is a struggle to keep the other me alive. If I woke up one morning and realized that all I was ever going to be was a business man, I’d probably die.”
Don’t worry, Harley, to us readers and writers, you are not a businessman so much as a great writer and poet.
Articles
Though he writes mostly poetry, Harley also speaks and writes about public speaking and other topics. He composed a list of articles he has published here on Medium:
The list doesn’t include his many poems. You can find many of these on his profile page:
Public Speaking
Harley has been a public speaker for over 30 years. He speaks on a variety of topics and has spoken to groups ranging in size from 10 to 600 and has trained over 7500 people.
He writes about how to improve your presentations
Poetry
In addition to Haiku and longer poems, Harley likes to write narrative poems (story poems) and has compiled a list of those he’s published on Medium:
He has a way with images and uses them effectively to evoke emotions.
Reading aloud
Harley says most of his poems are meant to be read aloud. You can hear him read his poem “Choice” here. I enjoyed reading along as I listened.
He’s recorded many of his poems so you can listen as you read. This always makes a poem come alive for me.
(As an aside, I must say listening to poetry takes me back to my childhood when my mother read poems to me. Much later in life, I bought a set of LPs that contained recordings of poets reading their poems. The set included a book of poetry. I have great memories of listening to and reading those poems. Thanks, Harley, for bringing back some great memories. I’ll have to dig out that set of LPs and see if the turntable still works.)
Recently Published Poems
Here’s another of Harley’s recently penned poems:
You may also enjoy these two:
The Torchbearer Publication
Harley is the editor at The Torchbearer publication where you can find much of his work.
Zentangle®
Several years ago, Harley discovered Zentangle® and now channels some of his creative energy into making amazing abstract designs. He’s made over 600 of them. You can see his creations on his Instagram and Pinterest pages.
In Closing
Harley, thanks for sharing your art with us, especially your poems and Zentangle®. You are a fine artist. I hope my feeble effort helps bring you some of the elusive recognition you deserve. Your poems, even the sad ones, always brighten my day for the beauty of the words and images they evoke. Write on, my friend, write on!
Though I’m sure most of the poets I follow are familiar with your work, Harley, I’m going to tag some of them anyway.
Amy Marley, Dipti Pande, FILZA CHAUDHRY, Ibrahim Alkuraya, Indra Raj Pathak, Jamie McIntosh, Joanne Troppello🌻, Joe Luca, Kayo Zaduban, Kevin Buddaeus, Lisa Bolin, Lowen Puckey, Mary Holden, Najib Arman, Neha S, Patrick M. Davis, Priyanka Srivastava, Riku Arikiri, Robert Nelson Sarah E Sturgis, Sarene B. Arias, Selma, Vinitha Dileep, Willem-Jan Ageling, Caroline de Braganza, Denise G
I hope you enjoy Harley’s work as much as I do.
Happy Reading, Writing, and Connecting!
