For Immediate Release
THE HEART OF THE SOUND
An Alaskan Paradise Found and Nearly Lost
By Marybeth Holleman
Publication Date: March 24, 2004
Cloth $21.95, ISBN 0-87480-791-3
210 pp., 5 _ x 8 _, 3 photographs, 1 map
Download press kit
(Contents: bio, press release, high-resolution photo of author, high-resolution book cover image, book excerpt and flyer).
When the Exxon Valdez struck Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound on Good Friday 1989, millions of gallons of crude oil swept into the Sound, poisoning everything in its path. On the fifteenth anniversary of the spill comes one woman’s reflections on the devastation and the larger implications of that catastrophe. Twining together the destruction of an ecosystem, the disintegration of her marriage, and her emerging identity as a new mother, Holleman explores the resiliency of nature—both wild and human—and the ways in which that resiliency is tested.
If much of nature writing is about the heart’s search for an unspoiled landscape, The Heart of the Sound is about what happens when the return-to-paradise fantasy is over and paradise is lost. Speaking as a witness and as a survivor, Holleman shares what it means to rediscover love and to love an imperfect place.
Praise for The Heart of the Sound:
“This book has it all: an original, compelling story; lyrical, evocative prose; a clear-eyed and passionate storyteller. It has true transformative power.”
—Annie Dillard, author of Pilgrim at Tinker Creek
“An extraordinary book full of wonder and passion and a courageous story about the heart of Prince William Sound and about sounding the depths of our own hearts.”
—David W. Orr, author of Earth in Mind
“Part celebration, part quest, part hard-hitting critical debate, The Heart of the Sound floats us into wondrous new territory. In this graceful meditation about love, loss, and learning, Holleman’s prose shimmers like sunlight on clear water.”
—Nancy Lord, author of Fishcamp: Life on an Alaskan Shore
“In this vivid and honest account of love, loss, and allegiance to place, Marybeth Holleman engages troubling questions about human impact on the wild. Ultimately, the ravaged landscapes of Alaska and of her own heart teach her to find joy in impermanence.”
—Lorraine Anderson, editor of Sisters of the Earth: Women’s Prose and Poetry About Nature
““Beautiful writing, like one long love poem .. a story about a place that breaks your heart, and breaks it again.”
—Janisse Ray, author of Ecology of a Cracker Childhood
Marybeth Holleman teaches creative writing, women’s studies, and literature at the University of Alaska and has published essays, articles, and poetry in various journals and anthologies. She lives in Anchorage with her husband and son.
For more information, contact publicist Tara Wreyford at akliterarypr@yahoo.com or the University of Utah Press publicity department by phone (801) 585-9786, fax (801) 581-3365, or e-mail at mritchie@upress.utah.edu.
Previous Book Tour Events
Friday, March 12, 7:00pm: Book Launch. University of Alaska Anchorage, BEB 110. Sponsored by Alaska Quarterly Review and Creative Writing and Literary Arts. Anchorage, AK. www.uaa.alaska.edu/cwla/events.html
Thursday, March 18, 7:30pm: Reading. Elliott Bay Books, Seattle WA. www.elliottbaybook.com
Friday, March 19, 4:00-5:30pm: Book Signing. Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association, Seattle WA. www.pnba.org
Sunday, March 21, 5:00pm: Reading and Slide Presentation. Village Books, Bellingham, WA. www.villagebooks.com
Wednesday, March 24. Remembrance of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill 15 Years Later. Community gathering, readings, talks. Loussac Library, Anchorage, AK.
Friday, March 26. Guest on NPR's Science Friday.
Monday, March 29. Writing Workshop. Authors in the Schools Program. Lake Hood Elementary. Anchorage, AK.
Thursday, April 1. Speaker. Alaska Press Women monthly luncheon. Anchorage, AK. www.akpresswomen.com
Wednesday, April 7. 7:00 pm. Reading. Fundraiser for Alaska Natural History Symposium. Alaska Pacific University.
Friday, April 16. Writing Workshop: Environmental writing and memoir. Alaska Center for the Book Writing Rendezvous. Anchorage, AK. www.alaskacenterforthebook.org
Saturday, April 17. Reading and Craft Talk. Alaska Center for the Book Writing Rendezvous. Anchorage, AK.
Thursday, April 22, 7:30pm. Earth Day Reading. Title Wave Books, Anchorage, AK. www.wavebooks.com
Friday, April 23, noon. Speaker. Alaska Women's Environmental Network luncheon. Anchorage, AK.
Saturday, May 1. Presentation. Alaska Natural History Symposium. Palmer, AK.
Saturday, May 8. Reading and slide show. Sunday, May 9. Nature Writing Workshop. Copper River Delta Shorebird Festival. Cordova, AK. www.cordovachamber.com
Sunday, May 23. Reading and signing. Alaska Sealife Center. Seward, AK.
Friday, June 11. Reading and Signing. Cook Inlet Book Company. Anchorage, AK. www.cookinlet.com
June 18-22. Reading and Craft Talk. Kachemak Bay Writer’s Conference. Homer, AK. http://chinook.kpc.alaska.edu/~conference
August 18. Reading from anthology Going Alone. Title Wave Books, Anchorage, AK.
August 19. Reading and slide show. Denali Foundation Community Series. Denali, AK.
September 18. Book signing. Barnes and Noble. Anchorage, AK.
September 23. Reading. YWCA Alaska Women Writers. Anchorage Museum of History and Art. Anchorage, AK. www.ywcaak.org.
October 11. Reading. University of Alaska Faculty Authors Celebration. Campus Bookstore. Anchorage, AK.
October 15. Reading and slide show. Alaska Conservation Foundation Fall Board Meeting. City Club, San Francisco, CA.
October 18. Reading. Oregon State University. Corvallis, OR.
October 19. Reading and slide show. Ecotrust. Natural Capital Center, Portland, OR.
October 26. Discussion. Border's Book Club. Anchorage, AK.
October 29-31. "Writing the Natural World." Junction, Texas.
|
