Meet our friend · Poet & writer
Harry Owen
Poetry that begins with a walk.
Kylemore, South Africa
What we dig
Harry writes about our capacity to destroy the world we depend on, then brings us back to flowers, sunshine, sea and the peace of cliff tops. Those things are still written into us. We love the way his poems encourage us to slow down and find life in the mystery and beauty around us.
“the peace of cliff tops written up in me.”
Harry Owenfrom “Important Things”
About Harry.
Harry Owen is a poet based in Kylemore, South Africa. The natural world is a major source of his themes, and he is sometimes described as an eco-poet. Music also influences his writing, and he has occasionally collaborated with musicians. His second full collection, The Music of Ourselves, was published in 2004.
A notebook on a walk.
Harry walks in nature with a small notebook, gathering observations, ideas, thoughts and reflections. These are the raw material. Some become poems later; others never do.
He writes almost everything by hand before moving a draft to his laptop. A poem may take days, weeks or longer to come together. He edits and rewrites a lot.
A life of its own.
Harry hopes readers and listeners will find recognition, connection and something to enjoy in his poems, especially in his love for the natural world. He respects that each person’s response belongs to them.
“once a poem is published it is no longer solely mine; it takes on a life of its own.”
Harry Owen, on what he hopes his poems give readers