A Snapshot of Dylan Harrington

​Dylan Harrington has a six-piece wine-red Gretsch Catalina kit (maple shells), Meinl cymbals, and Gibraltar hardware. He's currently grieving a miscarriage. He drives a silver 2003 Chevy Town & Country, which is falling apart at any given time. He used to judge parents that took early miscarriages to heart but has been humbled. He married Ana VanderVelde in 2023—3 years and 1 day. His favorite color is purple. A boy cycles through his mind. He thinks it's more "girly" to not like a color just because it's "girly" than to like a "girly" color. He loves his kids but currently feels guilty over the thought, there was supposed to be four. He played in a mediocre death metal band in high school, Murder Fixation. He's been sensitive about anything to do with kids since seeing a boy on a bicycle die in the Middle East in 2014 and choosing to be a passive observer.

In addition to drumming, he spends time gardening, picking his skin, playing disc golf, deep-breathing, walking in the woods, trying not to think, psilocybin, and spending time with his wife and kids. His favorite band is Greyhaven.

He is described as "volatile" and "difficult to work with" by OPEN: Journal of Art & Letters, "the first and only writer on our blacklist."

Since July 2025, he has advocated for the survivors of the North Fox Island abuse ring in the form of a physical memorial which is now pending installation—the plaque was written by a survivor himself.

He is in the slow process of forming The Open Sores Project, an aspiring not-for-profit that aims to amplify the voices of individuals with trauma and/or disabilities. He runs a Facebook for it but not a Twitter or Bluesky; his goal is to penetrate the minds of the ignorant and oblivious rather than entertain the snobby and pretentious. You can learn more about him and that, here: https://dylanharrington91.github.io

He has a Great Pyrenees, Pączki, who he is fond of and a poodle, Wilbur, who he's still not sold on. His favorite bird is the cardinal but bears are his favorite animal in general. He's coaching his son's T-ball team and having a hell of a time.

He descends from a line largely consisting of farmers, military men, law enforcement officials, and machinists.

He is a 100% disabled Operation Inherent Resolve Navy veteran and served aboard the USS O'Kane (DDG-77) from 2012–2015. Sailors commonly refer to it as the Hulk'ane. Dylan is diagnosed with C-PTSD, MDD, and CID. His former psychiatrist routinely noted BPD traits. He laughs at a well-timed fart and rebels against suicidality by staying alive.

Editorial note: we love mr. Harrington’s work for being one of the most successful examples of Poetry meeting visual art, and vice versa! Click here for his equally beautiful ‘Entropy’, which we published in our Poetry segment of this very same issue.