LETTER FROM THE PRESS 2
Hiraeth. Why choose such a strange and foreign word for the name of a publishing company? The Welsh word hiraeth encapsulates the spirit by which we strive and that the books we publish hope to inspire. A direct translation of the word might be something like “longing,” though a more literary reading and a look at its role in medieval Welsh poetry reveals that it is a deep longing of the soul for one’s original homeland. Here at Hiraeth Press we believe that our collective human homeland are the still-wild places of the Earth. We long for a more ecologically and spiritually sane world and believe passionately that poetry is a form of activism on behalf of the more-than-human world. Our mission states: We are passionate about creativity as a means of transforming consciousness, both individually and socially. We hope to participate in a revolution to return poetry to the public discourse and a place in the world which matters. Of the many important issues of our times we feel that our relationship to the environment is of the most fundamental concern. Our publications reflect the ideal that falling in love with the earth is nothing short of revolutionary and that through our relationship to nature we can birth a more enlightened vision of life for the future. We believe that art and poetry are the universal language of the human experience and are thus most capable of transforming our vision of self and world. The volumes in our 2010 Catalog reflect this longing. In hopes that you too will participate in this transformation toward a spiritually and ecologically sustainable future we offer a number of volumes to inspire you and lure you toward a love affair with your own wild places, be they in the world or in the soul. Though the selection is small it is rich. With your support we hope to continue to publish books and poems to awaken hearts and minds. Read on under your favorite tree.
Yours from the estuary,
Jason Kirkey Founder, Hiraeth Press
CURRENT TITLES
The Salmon in the Spring The Ecology of Celtic Spirituality
Jason Kirkey “Soul and nature—the inner and outer landscape—are one: they are the wildness of the world and the wildness of the self. To alienate ourselves from one is to alienate ourselves from the Other.”
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“Here at the end of the Cenozoic Era with the life systems withering away, a surprising creativity appears, a kind of mystical balancing act. The world’s spiritual traditions are entering into deeply engaged conversations through which the riches of each are ignited in new ways. With The Salmon in the Spring, Jason Kirkey has boldly carved out his place in this exciting work with his original interpretations of the concepts and stories of ancient Ireland . . . Kirkey’s vision speaks directly to our present ecological challenge. Rejecting those nature-denying forms of spirituality that have been used too easily to justify our domestication of the planet, The Salmon in the Spring announces its thrilling spiritual foundation: “Our wild nature is our soul.” —Brian Swimme, California Institute of Integral Studies “The Salmon in the Spring is a bold book. It is bold because it—no less so than its author—isn’t content to rest back on its philosophical laurels and ponder by-gone eras. To the contrary, Kirkey and The Salmon in the Spring invite and initiate the reader into a deep dive within the interior space of the Celtic mystic, but in archetypal and pragmatic ways that make an important contribution to the domain of ecopsychology today.” —Frank MacEowen, author of The Mist-Filled Path and The Celtic Way of Seeing When I listen to Jason Kirkey retell the old tales and the ancient truths from the Celtic mystical tradition, I am encouraged that the wisdom of our ancestors can still inspire a modern spiritual life. His “silver branch perception” helps us re-imagine ourselves as a species so we can live sane and relevant lives. The Salmon in the Spring is an eloquent calling to be fully present and engaged in our time and place in both human and mythic history. —Tom Cowan, author of Fire in the Head and Yearning for the Wind
Distributed by Ingram / $17.95 / 296 pages / 6x9 Paperback 10% Discount on orders placed by libraries. 4
Also by Jason Kirkey “All too often poetry is judged upon whether it is worthy of the reader. Here is poetry that demands that we—the reader—make ourselves worthy to receive it.” —Frank MacEowen, author of The Mist-Filled Path You too have been gifted with a voice of words shaped around the air; I am not speaking of that voice, but the one you have, and are afraid to use. If you would meditate, then speak; if you would speak then know that the sound of your breathing passed through the pure silence of your body, and all the music that follows is the freedom that we were born for. The air is already rushing in to fill you. What is the beauty that you will sing? —from July Leaves
Distributed by Ingram / $14.95 / 116 pages / 6x9 Paperback
The Ballad of the Sea-Sweet Moon tells the story of a mythic encounter with the divine feminine and how it shakes and shapes the life of one man, setting his heart ablaze. In their poetic and tantric love-making, cities and structures of consciousness will fall, ultimately making room for a new way of being in the world. This collection also includes a newly edited version of the chapbook September Seeing and several never before seen poems. “What are you reading for? What are you reading for? Let the world come in your eyes!” Now I sit in the brown light of sunset just before a storm with space enough in my tea for the rain. The lawnmower is broken. The grass is knee-high, and bends in the wind like a river. “Just once, let what is in your care grow wild enough to see the world through its own eyes.” —from Conversations with Maple
Distributed by Ingram / $12.95 / 104 pages / 5x8 Paperback
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Huntley Meadows A Naturalist’s Journal in Verse
Jamie K. Reaser “Jamie K. Reaser’s poetic account of a year in Huntley Meadows in the heart of Washington is a treasure. A top-rank scientist committed to conservation biology, Reaser turns out to be a poet able to project images of the natural world that echo reality—and at the same time move the reader’s spirit. Read it and then go there!” —Donald Kennedy, PhD, President Emeritus of Stanford University Watching an individual leaf waltz its way down from blue can’t be any less miraculous than birth. “In the lineage of Oliver, Stegner, Lopez and Thoreau, Jamie K. Reaser’s exquisite year-long record, Huntley Meadows, guides us as readers to a sacred return. In this living homage to fur, feather, scale and root we remember the deep love possible for a place through the seasons. The spirit of a shaman-poet and the keen eye of a naturalist come together in these pages. The end result is a collection of verses wherein a special place is given a voice. Listening to such voices offers all of us resurrection and renewal.” —Frank Owen, creator of the online poetry experience, nekyia.poetry “Reaser’s words are able to reach us within our deep fatigue, stirring us to venture out into the remaining untouched places and turn within. She brings us with her out into the tall grasses to watch the elusive Red Fox and listen to the Bluebirds conversing with the Wren, knowing that we will find what we need to soothe our modern ails in the simplicity, constancy and grace of our surround. What Reaser gathered during her time at Huntley Meadows has the potential to make our wanting lives much richer.” —L.M. Browning author of Oak Wise and Rumination at Twilight “Jamie K. Reaser’s poems transport you into the natural world of Huntley Meadows, a magical place in the heart of the DC Metropolitan area. Her words are a welcoming awakening to a sense of nature, something many of us are losing and trying to regain.” —Gabriela Chavarria, PhD, Director of National Resource Defense Council Science Center “Soulful and delicious appetizers of poems that make you want to visit Huntley Meadows every day and see what Dr. Reaser has seen. She makes the invisible suddenly visible, and beautiful.” —Kevin Munroe, Huntley Meadows, Park Manager
Distributed by Ingram / $15.95 / 214 pages / 6x9 Paperback 10% Discount on orders placed by libraries. 6
Also by Jamie K. Reaser Ever since that infamous episode in The Garden of Eden, we humans have desperately needed to heal our relationship with the scaly and slippery ones. Unfairly disenfranchised from our goodwill for thousands of years, “herps” deserve to be loved for what they really are: fascinating, life-giving, and the only creatures with perpetual smiles. —Susan Chernak McElroy, author of Animals as Teachers and Healers “This wonderful collection of essays offers a glimpse into the special world of reptiles, and the spell they cast on those who have devoted their lives to their study. If you love nature, whether or not you’re ‘into’ reptiles, you’ll find much to enjoy, and you just may come away with a newfound appreciation and respect for these fascinating, often beautiful and frequently misunderstood creatures.” —Russ Case, Editor, Reptiles Magazine
Distributed by Ingram / $12.95 / 252 pages / 5x8 Paperback
with Susan Chernak McElroy Do you remember the first time you fell in love? Within these pages you will find love stories, rapturous love affairs with the land, longings, shameless seductions, betrothals, vows exchanged, marriages of the soul, heartaches, partings, healings, and renewals. The authors are the courters and the courted…Their landscape paramours embrace them and they grow forth from within. “A stirring book…filled with transcendent and highly personal moments of revelation, of awe, reverence and love for nature… the profound truth and magic of becoming one with life on Earth. This is a book for anyone anywhere...from the camper’s backpack to bedside tables.” —Dr. Thomas E. Lovejoy, Director, The Heinz Center for Science, Economics and the Environment
Distributed by Ingram / $12.95 / 252 pages / 5x8 Paperback 7
Directory: Promotions / Marketing Director: L.M. Browning: lmbrowning@hiraethpress.com To place an order: orders@hiraethpress.com General Email: info@hiraethpress.com
We are passionate about creativity as a means of transforming consciousness, both individually and socially. We hope to participate in a revolution to return poetry to the public discourse and a place in the world which matters. Of the many important issues of our times we feel that our relationship to the environment is of the most fundamental concern. Our publications reflect the ideal that falling in love with the earth is nothing short of revolutionary and that through our relationship to nature we can birth a more enlightened vision of life for the future. We believe that art and poetry are the universal language of the human experience and are thus most capable of transforming our vision of self and world.
P.O. P O BOX 416 DANVERS, MA 01923 www.hiraethpress.com