Home: Chronicle of a North Country Life

Sept 2014 "Home"


“The house, like a shell, amplified the sounds of wind and crickets and birds. I listened to the August afternoon, hearing a language I could not speak, a language spoken and sung by creatures who did not care whether they were heard, or understood.”

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After twenty-five years on our New Brunswick farm, I began to photograph and write about the fields, gardens and forests that surrounded me. Originally released in 1996, “Home: Chronicle of a North Country Life” has been republished in a gorgeous new edition. From the flap copy: “Placing herself in the dual roles of explorer and storyteller, Powning navigates the unspoken divide between the untamed and the domestic, revelling in the complex bonds that exist between the natural world and those who would seek to explore its wonders.” The Goose Lane edition contains a new introduction and over 75 photographs.

A “Discovery Title” of the New England Booksellers Association; Shortlisted for the Calvin Rutstrum Foundation’s 2000 Rutstrum Author’s Award
E. L. Doctorow: “Beth Powning’s beautiful celebration of natural life is meet and proper for these unnatural times. I think it will be read for years to come.”
The Chicago Tribune: “A wandering serenity you can hold in your hand…with beautiful prose and evocative photography, (this) book pours out small wonders, hard-won truths and a desire to connect with nature…In a world increasingly cynical and numb, Powning puts a light in the window for us all, wherever we call home.”
Orion: “… one of the most beautifully executed books to come our way in a long time.”

Publishers Weekly (starred review): “Powning combines an extraordinary understanding and sense of place with an affinity for the world of nature…This books imparts a feeling of serenity; Annie Dillard fans will enjoy it.”

 

The Windsor Star: “Powning’s eye is keen and curious. Nothing escapes her…A powerful statement that makes us sit up and wonder what we’ve been missing.”