George Harrison's widow, Olivia Harrison, will publish her first book of poetry on June 3rd. The new collection, Came The Lightening: Twenty Poems For George, is dedicated to the late-Beatle in commemoration of the 20th anniversary of his death from cancer on November 29th, 2001 at age 58.
In the book, Olivia, “Tenderly reflects upon the couple's lives, examining the intimacy of the spiritual and emotional connection of their relationship. . . Came The Lightening is an essential book for anyone who has ever been in love. Olivia's words explore the human psyche in reaction to grief and death, spirituality and the passing of time.”
In the book's announcement, Olivia wrote: “Time — we take no notice of it but for its loss.' I wanted to stop time on the day George died so that I wouldn't ever have to look back. Yet here I am, twenty years and twenty poems later, one for each year I suppose. I didn't plan it that way but here they are: thoughts, feelings and words about life and death but mostly love and our journey to the end”
The poems are accompanied by a selection of photographs and mementos curated by Olivia including pictures of herself and George.
Olivia Harrison shared most, if not all, of George's spiritual beliefs. We asked her if George ever felt hurt by some of the negative reviews his solo work garnered due to much of it dealing with God and religion: “I don't know. I don't think he cared. He wrote what he felt, what he wanted to write. And recently I heard an interview (and) he said, 'Y'know, sometimes you mention God, or you mention the word 'Lord' and it makes people's hair curl.' And he said, 'Maybe I served some useful purpose (laughs).'”
