Don Hynes

Author of two volumes of poetry, Slender Arrow (1998), Out From Under (2001) and the web political commentary Vantage Point, Don was born of Irish and Irish American parents in New York City, attended college at Notre Dame during the 60s (use your imagination), traveled the US doing a spectrum of work from teaching to carpentry, married a New York girl and started a family in New Orleans, raised two beautiful daughters in rural Louisiana, became a skilled builder of houses and contributed to several spiritually and environmentally dedicated communities in Colorado and Oregon.

With his second wife, artist and glass sculptor Linda Ethier, he’s enjoying three amazing grandchildren while continuing to manage large construction projects, most recently for a group of Catholic nuns (may his mother -- God rest her soul -- be joyful). He sea kayaks the San Juan Islands, tramps the woods of Oregon, hangs out with the soon to be retired not-so-rowdy boys and roots for New York baseball while enjoying his next best home town, Portland Oregon, home of the latte, the tattoo, crowded (whoever heard of crowded) bookstores, and the all night sound of rain.

His story, as anyone’s, is as much about the inner landscape as the outer, and for Don it has always been the soul path, the inner quest for meaning, for understanding, for creating a personal myth of authentic sovereignty and lasting compassion. His writing is often self-reflective but his intent is to reveal an artistic way of seeing, of being in the world that encourages the garden we have long imagined.

And besides, as far as life stories go, he’s still working on his.