Missing The Owl is Richard Widerkehr's fifth book of poems. His previous books are Night Journey (Shanti Arts Publishing), At the Grace Cafe (Main Street Rag), In the Presence of Absence (MoonPath Press), The Way Home (Plain View Press). He has also authored three chapbooks and a novel, Sedimental Journey (Tarragon Books). His poems and stories have appeared in over one hundred publications, including Rattle, Atlanta Review, Crab Creek Review, I-70 Review, and Verse Daily. One of his poems was broadcast by Garrison Keillor on Writer's Almanac. Widerkehr won two Hopwood first prizes for poetry at the University of Michigan, first prize for a short story at the Pacific Northwest Writers Conference, three awards in The Bridge's poetry contests, and three Sue C. Boynton Contest prizes. He worked as a teacher in the Upward Bound Program at Western Washington University and as a counselor on the mental heath unit of a hospital.