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Half Dome

Piute Canyon

Horse Creek Trail

Poems and Journals of Gary Snyder, Woodcuts by Tom Killion

128 pages (11.5 x 9), with 23 full-color woodcuts, b&w illustrations throughout
Trade Paper, ISBN: 1-890771-99-6, $24.95

Published in conjunction with the Yosemite Association

A San Francisco Chronicle Bestseller

Here is the long-awaited paperbound edition of a much beloved book. The High Sierra of California is a brilliant tribute to the bold, jagged peaks that have inspired generations of naturalists, artists, and writers.

Using traditional Japanese and European woodcut techniques, Killion has created stunning visual images of the Sierra that focus on the backcountry above nine thousand feet, accessible only on foot. Accompanying these riveting images are the journals of Gary Snyder, chronicling more than forty years of travels through the High Sierra backcountry.

See more of Tom Killion's prints on the artist's website.

Reviews:

"For a fibrillatingly lovely look at the High Sierra, that corner of the state that stays the same while all the rest of California convulses, the book to get this year is Tom Killion and Gary Snyder’s art book, The High Sierra of California. …It is to other coffee-table books what Jamaican Blue Mountain is to other coffee."—David Kipen, San Francisco Chronicle

"Sometimes stately and solemn, sometimes mysterious and mystical, sometimes rollicking and even slightly ribald—[these prints] are the visual equivalent of Snyder’s poetry and the real glory of the book."—Jonathan Kirsch, Los Angeles Times Book Review

"This is a stunning book, a combination of Killion’s Japanese-style woodcut images, the poetry and journal writings of Snyder, and excerpts from John Muir’s journals."—Mary Ann Gwinn, Seattle Times

"The crisp mountain air fairly wafts from the pages."—Jack Fischer, San Jose Mercury News

"Three sensibilities married in an uncompromising love for and understanding of the High Sierra, Snyder, Killion, and Muir merge observations in an appealing and colorful book."—ForeWord Magazine

If you’ve ever looked up in wonder at one of Yosemite’s granite-faced cliffs, The High Sierra of California will make you pause. …[It] perfectly capture[s] the awe and humility that nature can inspire."—San Francisco Magazine

Reviews:

Winner of the California Book Award Medal

Author Biographies:

Gary Snyder has published sixteen books of poetry and prose, including The Gary Snyder Reader (1952–1998) and Turtle Island, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1974. Among his many awards are the Bollingen Prize and the Shelley Memorial Award. He is a professor emeritus of English at the University of California, Davis.

Tom Killion, founder of The Quail Press, is a California-born woodcut and letterpress artist. His extensively illustrated books include 28 Views of Mount Tamalpais, The Coast of California, and Walls: A Journey Across Three Continents. He lives in Point Reyes, California. You can find out more about his artwork at www.tomkillion.com.