Growing up in the Ohio Valley, Hazel Clayton Harrison dreamed of becoming a writer but she knew of no black writers. At Kent State University, she majored in elementary education. After earning her master's degree in education, she began a career in public and private education. While working as a corporate trainer, she pursued her passion for creative writing. In the 1980s her poetry and prose began to appear in various journals and anthologies including, Full Circle (editions 1-27), River Crossings, Grandfathers, A Rock Against the Wind, Coiled Serpent, Spectrum 15, and Altadena Poetry Review Anthology (2015-2019 editions). She is the author of a children's book, The Story of Christmas Tree Lane. Her memoir, Crossing the River Ohio, was published in 2014. Now retired from the corporate arena, she operates JAH Light Media, her own editing and publishing company, and serves as the 2018-2020 Altadena Poet Laureate for community events. She is a member of the Pasadena Rose Poets and participates in poetry readings throughout Southern California. "Down Freedom Road is a cornucopia of universal truths about the human condition, prohibited, inspired, and inalienable. Hazel Clayton Harrison makes them universal and specific, particularly for Black Americans who have lived in a different world historically, culturally, and spiritually with reverence for the earth that sustains. Beyond ritual, reparations, and reconciliation, the poetry and prose culled in this literary gift reflect the socioeconomic injustice, hatred, racism, bigotry, and stigma placed on a people for centuries. Though the journey is often rough, jagged, perilous, and steep, until freedom is realized, you must travel Down Freedom Road. " --C. Jerome Woods, Author/Editor "Hazel Clayton Harrison creates poetry that connects and honors her family, ancestors, and historical icons. They whisper in our ears, offer images in her dreams, and celebrate her words that bloom on the page. Lifted by her voice, her poetry stays with us-timeless-precious. --Gerda Govine Ituarte, Author
