Turn Around Time: A Walking Poem for the Pacific Northwest - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 168051265X ISBN 13: 9781680512656

Publisher: Mountaineers Books, 2019

Synopsis

Most outdoor enthusiasts understand the phrase “turn around time” as that point in an adventure when you must cease heading out in order to have enough time to safely return to camp or home--regardless of whether you have reached your destination. For award-winning novelist David Guterson, it is also a metaphor for where we find ourselves in the middle of our lives, and his new narrative poem explores this idea through a lyrical journey along a trail, much like those in Washington’s mountain ranges he hiked while growing up.

Even outdoor-lovers who are not normally readers of poetry will relate to the physicality of hiking represented here, from endless trail switchbacks to foot and ankle pains. There is a fast-moving, propulsive quality to David’s writing, with lush language, vivid imagery, and pacing that resonates as a journey on foot. His words are brought further to life by the delicate yet mythical illustrations by award-winning artist Justin Gibbens.

About this title

About the Author:

David Guterson is a novelist, short story writer, poet, essayist, and journalist. He is best known for his award-winning debut novel, Snow Falling on Cedars, which won both the PEN/Faulkner Award and the American Booksellers Association Book of the Year Award. It has sold more than four million copies and was adapted as a major motion picture. He lives on Bainbridge Island near Seattle with his wife Robin. They have five children. Visit him on Facebook @davidgutersonauthor.

The work of artist Justin Gibbens is collected by individuals and institutions, including Washington Arts Consortium, Grinnell College, Microsoft, and the Tacoma Art Museum. He is represented by G. Gibson Gallery in Seattle and Elizabeth Leach Gallery in Portland and lives in Thorp, Washington. Visit him online at JustinGibbens.com.

Review:

[Turn Around Time offers] down-to-earth observations that celebrate aches and pains, solitude and companionship, and the privilege of participating in the journey. (Barbara Lloyd McMichael The Seattle Times)

With beautiful, lyrical language, Guterson leads his readers through the woods and hills, pointing out the wondrous sights, warning readers of difficulties and hazards, reminding them of ways to find their way back, and sharing the joy along the way.... One needn’t be a hiker nor a reader of poetry to enjoy this metaphorical journey; one merely needs to love fine writing. (Rosi Hollinbeck Tulsa Book Review)

Vivid, lyrical details enrich this narrative poem that celebrates time in the outdoors. (Sara Kennedy The Seattle Times)

Turn Around Time is a non-fiction testament to the beauty of being in Northwest wilderness, and it’s written in verse. If you’ve ever been stunned by the varieties of green available in one square foot of the rain forest out on the Olympic Peninsula, this is the book for you. (Seattle Review of Books)

Ultimately, this is a book to be read several times―not just at home, but on the trail as well (it's small enough to take on your next backcountry adventure). The poems will lead you to look more carefully at the nature around you, heightening your sense of the magic inherent in the wild. (Sara Boon Alpinist)

In his new book, renowned...author David Guterson pens a lyrical plea to appreciate and preserve our wilderness (The Seattle Times Pacific Northwest Magazine)

[Turn Around Time] reads like a cerebral exercise in the outdoors, a poem not simply about hiking, but about the journey of life itself.... T.S. Eliot mixed with a tad of Walt Whitman and The Beats (the “poets of the peaks,” like Jack Kerouac and Gary Snyder), poetry unafraid of big words and big thoughts, a rain forest or mountain range of ideas. (Knute Berger Crosscut)

About this edition

• Publisher: Mountaineers Books
• Publication date: 2019
• ISBN 10: 168051265X
• ISBN 13: 9781680512656
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 144
• Illustrator: Gibbens Justin