This 304 page coffee table book takes a look at 26 of America s great authors and the places that inspired them. Unique to this book of literary biography is the element of the photograph. With over 140 photographs throughout, the images add mood and dimension to the writing and they are often shockingly close to what the featured authors described in their own words. Lushly illustrated, and beautifully designed, the book is as much of a pleasure to look at as it is to read.
Rags to riches. Forbidden loves. Supernatural experiences. Narrow escapes. Some of the greatest stories of American literature are the stories of the scribes themselves and of the places that sparked their imaginations. In 2007, writer Thomas Hummel and photographer Tamra Dempsey set out in search of the sources of inspiration for 26 of this country's greatest authors. Two years and twenty thousand miles later, the result is A Journey Through Literary America -- a literary pilgrimage in photography and prose. In the words of one reviewer, "this is a beautiful and necessary book."
Through seven sections, ranging from New England's Early Leafs to The Inner Migration, from America's Main Streets to Twentieth Century Excursions, A Journey Through Literary America examines the facets of the American literary experience by combining captivating biographies, arresting images, hand drawn maps by Sinclair Lewis and William Faulkner, and the words of the authors themselves. Unique in its approach and invigorating in its outlook, this may be the book you never realized you needed.
The featured authors exhibit a range of voices: Sherwood Anderson * Raymond Carver * Willa Cather * James Fenimore Cooper * Rita Dove * Ralph Waldo Emerson * William Faulkner * Richard Ford * Robert Frost * Nathaniel Hawthorne * Ernest Hemingway * Langston Hughes * Washington Irving * Robinson Jeffers * Sinclair Lewis * Herman Melville * Henry Miller * Toni Morrison * Flannery O Connor * E. Annie Proulx * Philip Roth * Wallace Stegner * John Steinbeck * Henry David Thoreau * John Updike * Thomas Wolfe.
Thomas R. Hummel grew up in Burlington, Vermont and its environs. His parents, passing along their own lifelong passion, often spoke of and quoted literature to him and his three siblings. He obtained his Bachelor of Arts in English and German literature from Middlebury College in 1990. He also has an MBA in International Business from George Washington University. For the past 13 years, he has been working at Toppan Printing Company, printers of art books and coffee table books. He currently resides in Santa Monica, California with his wife and son.
Tamra L. Dempsey, Photographer, received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Brooks Institute in 1992. Her passion for travel and documentary photography has taken her to 16 countries spanning six continents, including Antarctica. For the past 12 years she has worked for Serbin Communications, a leading publisher of creative resources for photography and illustration. Tamra lives in Santa Barbara.
