Inside the journal, Harding wrote:
"I wrote the page here sitting in my car in a parking lot in Beverly, Massachusetts while my older son, 2 yrs old at the time, slept in the back seat. There is a minor character in Tinkers named Roy Morrell. In fact, Roy Morrell was my grandfather's dearest friend. The watch parts* on the cover are from Roy's pocket watch, which passed from him to my grandfather to me. The watch broke many years ago, and I took it apart to show my sons. Both my grandfather and Roy would have given their benedictions to making it a part of this notebook for Write Around Portland.
"I put the covers of this notebook together in much the same way I wrote Tinkers. If I had more time, I'd just keep adding layer after layer after layer ...."
Harding pasted a piece of the watch on the cover of the journal. It is on display at Design Within Reach, 1200 N.W. Everett St., along with other items from the silent auction. All proceeds from the event and silent auction support Write Around Portland's programs.
Harding will read from "Tinkers" at Powell's City of Books on Oct. 21.
-- Jeff Baker