About the Author
Edward Lense (1945–2014) was a well-known poet and accomplished photographer in the Columbus, Ohio, scene from the 1970s until his death in 2014. Having earned his BA from New York University in 1969 and Doctor of Philosophy from Ohio State University in 1975, he worked as professor of English at Columbus College of Art and Design (1976–2007) and served as advisor to the college’s student literary and visual arts magazine Botticelli (1976–2000). His frequent readings were well-attended. He was a three-time Ohio Arts Council Award winner in poetry and criticism and reviewed books for Ohioana Quarterly. Although best known as a poet, he also wrote novels, short stories, a textbook on writing poetry, a libretto, meditations, and homilies. He translated poetry from Anglo Saxon and collaborated with visual artists.
The 105 works collected here represent fewer than a third of Edward’s poems, which total more than 370. In ordering them, the editor used four manuscripts in her possession titled The Clock in My Blood, as well as digital files in the Special Collections room of Ohio State University Libraries.
About the Editor
Deborah Fleming’s collection of essays, Resurrection of the Wild: Meditations on Ohio’s Natural Landscape, won the PEN-America Art of the Essay Award in 2020. She has published five books of poetry, two collections of essays, one novel, and four volumes of scholarship. For many years, she served as editor and director of the Ashland Poetry Press.
Paperback: 186 pages
Publisher: Kelsay Books (September 8, 2026)