Joseph Hardy is one of a handful of writers who live in Nashville, Tennessee, that does not play a musical instrument, although a friend once asked him to bring his harmonica on a camping trip so they could throw it in the fire. His wife says he cannot leave a room without finding out something about everyone in it, and telling her their stories later. His work has been published in Appalachian Review, Cold Mountain Review, Inlandia, Poet Lore, and Poetry City, among others. He is the author of a book of poetry, The Only Light Coming In.