Tony Harrison's Poetry and His Relationship With His Parents What perspectives do Harrison’s poems open up on his relationship with his parents and family background in general? Tony Harrison’s family background and his relations with his parents is one that both confuses and overwhelms us. I use the present tense because I believe that Tony Harrison still has a relationship with his parents even though they both pasted away some times ago. Like all great poets, Harrison reflects his life and emotions in his poetry, his poetry, is very much like his life. The double sided life that he leads, the literary poet and th