Joseph Harrington’s Things Come On is a book that “restores dignity and beauty to the personal.” It is “a moving pastiche of reminiscence and diatribe, of artifact and allusion” and a keen examination of the intersection between private and public histories. With startling sensitivity, Harrington creates a document that draws from a vast network of archival sources–both personal and political–to examine the operation of memory, the process of mourning, and the relationship of the mother and the son. All of this is set in relief against one of the biggest political scandals in American history. The combination proves that, in the hands of such a creative poet, the possible resonances are endless.
This website is structured as online companion for careful readers and teachers of Harrington’s work. On it, you will find reviews and analysis of Things Come On, an interview with Joseph Harrington, discussion questions, audio, video and a reading list that contains works which inspired the text or may help to illuminate it in new ways.
To order a copy of Things Come On, visit the book page, here.
If you have any questions or experience problems with the site, please contact selliott@wesleyan.edu
