Yosemite Dawning: Poems of The Sierra Nevada by Shauna Potocky
"Shauna Potocky’s book calls us to join her travels through public lands that await us, know us and are part of us—trails, crevices, rivers, animals and mountain peaks. The fauna and the flora in each poem are a discovery, a relationship, a new life and an enlightenment. You will breathe deeply as you trek through her poems and drawings. You will become part of the earth’s true life, you will want to leave behind the manufactured freeze-dried urban-scapes. You will be at peace. Every poem is a new height, an unexpected vista, proof of her deep knowledge and love for the environment and its wiggly lives and grand miracles. The poems and drawings, the trails and compassion all lead us to a magnificent dawn indeed. This is a most necessary collection and a sure prize-winner."
—Juan Felipe Herrera, Poet Laureate of the United States, Emeritus
"Yosemite Dawning is an epic love poem for Yosemite National Park. These are not sentimental lines but rather a caretaker’s loving astonishment of Nature with one eye towards environmental despair and the other towards hope. The poet finds a legacy among the park’s jagged peaks: “Every route, they say, is a signature line.”"
—Tawhida Tanya Evanson, author of Book of Wings
"Shauna Potocky’s new collection, Yosemite Dawning, brims with lyrical descriptions of one of the nation’s greatest treasures, its imagery blessing both those who have experienced Yosemite firsthand and those who may now do so by reading this exquisite book of poetry. At once an accomplished collection and a call to environmental awareness and appreciation for the natural world, Yosemite Dawning will enjoin readers in newfound appreciation for this particular treasure as well as all our natural wonders."
— Marcia Meier, New Mexico-Arizona Book Award winner and author of Face, A Memoir
Shauna Potocky’s debut book of poetry takes us from the edge of the Central Valley, California with its wildlife refuges and agricultural fields, through foothills and into the realm of summits within the Sierra Nevada, including colorful and scent filled meanderings on the Eastside of this spectacular range. It is a journey of landscapes and time—cultural connections, histories, climbing and contemporary questions. The poet connects us to the unseen, to the tangible, to textures and tales, from the dusty past to today, and thoughtfully asks us how we will forge the future.
Book includes color drawings by Shauna Potocky
Cover Art "Seeing is Believing" by Penny Otwell
Publisher: Sandra Kleven
Imprint: Cirque Press
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Cirque Press Author — Shauna Potocky
Shauna Potocky has a deep love of high peaks, jagged ridgelines and ice. She has a strong connection to the natural world—including both landscapes and seascapes with their rough or subtle edges where life unfolds; her writing has been described as poetic memoir and powerful witnessing. Her poetry has appeared in a variety of publications and journals both at home and internationally; her forth coming book of poetry Sea Smoke, Spindrift and Other Spells is scheduled to be published by Cirque Press. Shauna Potocky is a poet and painter who lives in Seward, Alaska located within the traditional homelands of the Sugpiaq people.
Announcing Circles, a new imprint of Cirque Press designed for illustrated books. Look to these engaging books for image and light, fun and fantasy, mystery and music. Circles focuses on the singing of the spheres, the clock of the seasons, the mirth of the hyena, and the renewal of legend and myth.
Lynda Whisman Humphrey is a retired Elementary Principal, former Reading Specialist, Central Office Administrator, and Administrator of a Teacher Education Program at the University of Washington. She and her husband spend their summers on their 68-acre ranch in the Methow Valley of Washington State, her winters in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and once in a while at the Seattle house. She loves seeing eyes light up with the “AHA” moment of learning. She describes herself as a “learning junkie” constantly seeking new information. She loves to travel and explore architecture, culture, music, food, traditions, and the people of different countries. She has a very fond place in her heart for Mexico and animals!
O. Alan Weltzien, Professor Emeritus of English at the University of Montana Western, retired in May 2020, closing out forty years of full-time teaching. Weltzien has published ten books and four chapbooks, including The Norman Maclean Reader (University of Chicago Press, 2008); Savage West: The Life and Fiction of Thomas Savage (University of Nevada Press, 2020); A Father and an Island (Lewis-Clark Press, 2008); and Exceptional Mountains: A Cultural History of the Pacific Northwest Volcanoes (University of Nebraska Press, 2016)
