TUCSON,
ARIZONA (1/17/05) - "Harbor Lights" from Poet Jim Ostheimer is magnetic
collection of poetry that leads readers through the myriad moments of
life.
This collection is at once thought-provoking, humorous, and sobering, and will
leave none disappointed.
From the opening poem, "Omaha Beach
Cemetery," which reminds us of the sacrifices made for our freedom an
ocean away, to "9-11-02," which renews feeling of sorrow and solidarity
one year after the 9-11 tragedy, Ostheimer realizes the importance of
remembrance and reverence for those who have gone before.
Lighter poems such as "I Can Fly" and "Quiet Moments" round out the collection with a heartfelt tug at a smile.
Penny Porter, a frequent contributor to Arizona Highways
and other publications, remarks, "Jim Ostheimer's recent collection of
poetry, Harbor Lights, is a rocking chair adventure, a sought after time
to hold a book in hand, and walk with the author through life's
familiar journeys. In his words we find patterns of comfort, gladness
and sorrow, feelings we all share but perhaps didn't take the time to
notice. Jim Ostheimer has a gift, a rare insight into the everyday
happenings as we travel through life. He can take any obscure or
ordinary moment and make it fly. Once again, we feel the breeze, hear
the song, sense the magic in the way it was, and we are blessed."
Jim Ostheimer was born in 1932 in
Germantown, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Middlesex School in Concord,
Massachusetts, where he won the Thoreau Medal for creative writing as a
freshman. Ostheimer graduated from Yale University with a B.A. in 1955.
Following college he flew F86D and F89J
interceptors in the Air Force and Air National Guard while continuing
to play club Lacrosse. He then sailed and raced in a number of
one-design classes for 35 years.
He lives in Tucson, Arizona, with his wife Cornelia who
is his lifetime support. They have four children and eight
grandchildren.
He has won the Sun City Poetry Contest
in 2000 and 2003 as well as receiving honorable mention in 2003 in The
Society of Southwestern Authors Poetry Contest. Jim secured second place
and three of the six awards in Short Free Verse in the 2001 and
honorable mention in the 2003 Arizona State Poetry Contest.
Ostheimer is also the author of Blue Yonder, Jim’s first book of poetry, published in 2002.
Harbor Lights (ISBN: 1-59453-418-7).