Arctic Dreams

The travel writing class I'm taking requires each of us to present and review a book from a list made up by the professor, Nick. I've narrowed my choices to a handful, which include Frances Mayes' Under a Tuscan Sun, Mary Lee Settle's Turkish Reflections, D.H. Lawrence's Sea and Sardinia, and Barry Lopez's Arctic Dreams. Ever since I made my first trip to Europe, which began with Istanbul, I've been particularly fascinated with the city that straddles both Asia and Europe. Barry Lopez's works have also been on my books-I-need-to-read list. So I'm torn between Turkish Reflections and Arctic Dreams.

Today, I noticed a link on the university's website to an exhibit featuring photos of the Arctic landscape. They're taken by a photographer named Subhankar Banerjee, who was a physicist before becoming a photographer. If you check out his site, be sure to read about his projects which concern the preservation of the environment, especially that of the Arctic. The draw, of course, is the site's gallery of photographs, which are splendid and accompanied by wonderful quotes. Even Barry Lopez has something good to say about Banerjee's work.

Looks like I may pick up Lopez's book after all, although it is 496 pages long. The Arctic or Turkey? Hmm... .

Sheekjek Valley by Subhankar Banerjee

Posted by Monoceros at January 12, 2005 5:36 PM