Years ago, I woke with a vivid image in my head: a large
black wolf. I have no idea how that wolf got into my dreams. I didn’t even know
at the time that wolves might be black.
Fast forward several years. I opened the newspaper to a photo
of my dream-wolf, a black one named Romeo. He lived in Juneau ,
at Mendenhall Glacier, and he was famous not only in Alaska
but all over the world.
That wolf of my dreams inspired a book. Earlier this year,
the University of Alaska
Press Alaska
Then Sherry Simpson’s Dominion of Bears was released, adding fresh perspectives on wildlife here in Alaska , where we share natural, urban, and cultural landscapes
with amazing and complex creatures.
How do these animals shape our
ideas about wilderness and identity? In what ways do the creatures that inhabit
our imaginations differ from the ones that inhabit our lives? What can we learn
from the passion and wonder of those who dedicate themselves to the study of
wildlife? In our work, each of us ponder these questions.
You'll find all three books autographed and on sale (20% off) through Sunday at the Anchorage Museum Shop, one of only a few independent booksellers in Anchorage...and they do mail orders, too!
Deb Vanasse is the author
of several books for children and adults, including the Junior Literary Guild
selection A Distant Enemy and Battle University
of Alaska Press
Marybeth Holleman is author of The
Heart of the Sound, co-author
of Among Wolves, and
co-editor of Crosscurrents North. Her
essays, poems, and articles have appeared in dozens of journals,
magazines, and anthologies.
Sherry Simpson is the author
of Dominion of Bears: Living with Wildlife in Alaska and two collections of essays, The
Accidental Explorer and The Way Winter Comes, which won the
inaugural Chinook Literary Prize. Her work has appeared in numerous magazines,
journals and anthologies.
