Hyland writes for himself, trusting that his concerns, his themes, his divulgences are familiar to many. His work is at times deceptive in its simplicity, flamboyant wording eschewed in favor of clear language, the tongue of his people, good, kind, hardworking folk who give all without reservation. Yet beneath that welcoming surface, his poems are a wonderful construct, an interdependence of working parts crafted over weeks, months, and years.

Ed's poetry is accessible to all who care to spend time with it. It does not require a skeleton key, appendices, or annotations. It requires the reader to be present. The poems do the rest.

Introduction copyrighted to Matthew P. Mayo 2015