Joseph Harrison: The Last Poem

Joseph Harrison:The Last Poem Jennifer Keith (bio) Joseph Harrison's brain was a library filled with volumes of information, knowledge, and insights on baseball, classic and contemporary literature, travel, politics, cinema, Shakespeare, fine food, history, art, and the Baltimore Ravens. Harrison's poetry is a section in itself. His books of poetry earned accolades and praise from distinguished poets and scholars. There was a Guggenheim Fellowship in poetry and an Academy Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and more. Harrison was senior American editor at Waywiser Press and longtime director of its Anthony Hecht Poetry Prize, which he cofounded with Philip Hoy. His mental library was uncommonly vast, its contents priceless. And, like other physical repositories, vulnerable. Perhaps when Harrison was driving home to Baltimore from Lexington, Kentucky, in September 2023, he might have sensed danger like a faint whiff of smoke. He'd just attended his niece's wedding and, at the ceremony, recited a poem he had composed for the couple. He enjoyed the evening, greeting family and even taking a few steps on the dance floor. But shortly after he returned home from the long drive, there was a series of unexplained falls that put Harrison in The Johns Hopkins Hospital. Tests revealed a large cloud of smoke behind his left eye, webbing and wafting through the shelves of his brain, quietly devouring. Neurosurgeons at Johns Hopkins performed a biopsy, and the results were devastating: Harrison, at age sixty-six, had an advanced, aggressive glioma in the front lobe of his brain. A snarl of vessels had formed and was feeding it. Attempting to remove the tumor surgically could cause catastrophic bleeding. The great library was in flames. On hearing the news, friends and family quickly surrounded Harrison's hospital bed. They held him tight as he heard the diagnosis. His neurosurgeon was struck by their devotion. She told Harrison she saw something special in him and in the support he received, which seemed to be working synergistically: Harrison was showing a remarkable resilience. In Harrison's final weeks, chemotherapy and radiation had markedly diminished his energy. Still, he was able to mentally carry armloads of priceless treasures to safety, record and organize his ideas and entrust them to those he loved. Friends and family continually gathered at Harrison's home in Baltimore to provide care, socialize, discuss Shakespeare plays and [End Page 17] great films, and share gourmet food from his favorite local restaurants. His spirits were by turns buoyant, thoughtful, and determined. In the shadow of a fearsome prognosis, Harrison worked, tirelessly, to express his gratitude and save everything he could. He died on Tuesday, February 13, at peace and at home, surrounded by family. [End Page 18] Jennifer Keith jennifer keith's poems have appeared in The Free State Review, Best American Poetry 2015, jmww, and elsewhere. Her first full-length poetry manuscript, Terminarch, won the 2023 Able Muse Book Award. She lives in Baltimore, Maryland.