Ten years in the making, On a Benediction of Wind is a sparse yet lyrical work, in which poems and images become reflections of one another. With its emphasis on birds, the innate holiness of nature, and experiences shared by an unnamed couple, the book is an invitation to leave the distractions of the modern world behind—and listen once again to "the confessions of snow" and "the breathing of stones.”
A quiet intimacy runs through this collection of free verse and prose poems, each paired with a black-and-white landscape photograph from the Pacific Northwest and the American Southwest. Poet Charles Finn and photographer Barbara Michelman weave a tapestry of words and images from the natural world into a single, timeless strand. Sometimes a poem are inspired by the photograph, other times a photo inspires a poem.
Author Charles Finn is the former editor of the literary and fine arts magazine High Desert Journal, and author of Wild Delicate Seconds: 29 Wildlife Encounters. His essays, poems, and nonfiction have been published in journals, magazines, newspapers, and anthologies across the West. He lives in Havre, Montana with his wife Joyce Mphande-Finn and their cat Lutsa.
Photographer Barbara Michelman started in Hollywood and was one of the first women in film lighting. Her photographic work has been widely exhibited, with work in public and private collections here and abroad. Her recent series on the aftermath of fires in the West, Fire on Every Mountain, was awarded Best of Photography at the Wild and Scenic Film Festival in California. She currently lives in Missoula, Montana.
