Tuesday, October 14, 2008

"Jonah' -- words & photos by Wyomingites

Wyoming native B.J. Buckley sends this info from the wilds of Lolo, Mont.:

Friends and Lit Folks --

My good friend Jane Wohl's daughter-in-law, Nikki Mann, has single-handedly published a really wonderful book about the Jonah Field (interviews, biological info, natural gas industry info, photos, text, poetry, etc.) in northern Wyoming. Nearly all photos and text are hers (see sample above), accented by poems by [WAC roster artist] Andy Nelson. The link below is to a blog associated with the Patagonia web site, which has a good comprehensive review, with sample photos and text. Some of you may already be aware of the book through Jane or Nikki, but it sure deserves more attention, reviews, etc.

As I understand from Jane, about half the run is sold so far (I'm not sure the exact price, but it's in the $40 range, give or take -- I haven't actually got my copies yet, though I saw galleys). Nikki tried and was abandoned by regular publishers, so she used her own grad school money to do this. Jane says that at this point Nik has no plans for a second printing when the first sells out -- which is a shame, as I think this deserves national attention -- so c'mon and help get it there, please? -- many of you have far more contacts higher up the reviewing and publishing chain than I do, and all of you have deep environmental and human concerns.

I ordered my copies through Jane Wohl, e-mail: jane@drwohl.com -- and i'm sure she would be glad to help you out with contact for Nikki Mann and other info.

The link to the blog mentioned above is:
http://www.thecleanestline.com/2008/10/getting-to-know.html