The High Sierra of California

by Gary Snyder, John Muir, Tom Killion

The High Sierra of California is a brilliant tribute to the bold, jagged peaks that have inspired generations of naturalists, artists, and writers. Using traditional Japanese and European woodcut techniques, Killion has created stunning visual images of the Sierra that focus on the backcountry above nine thousand feet, accessible only on foot. Accompanying these riveting images are the journals of Gary Snyder, chronicling more than forty years of travels through the High Sierra backcountry.

Genres: Poetry, Art, Nature, Nonfiction, Travel, Westerns, Memoir

128 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2002

About the author

Gary Snyder is an American poet, essayist, lecturer, and environmental activist. His early poetry has been associated with the Beat Generation and the San Francisco Renaissance and he has been described as the "poet laureate of Deep Ecology". Snyder is a winner of a Pulitzer Prize for Poetry and the American Book Award. His work, in his various roles, reflects an immersion in both Buddhist spirituality and nature. He has translated literature into English from ancient Chinese and modern Japanese. For many years, Snyder was an academic at the University of California, Davis, and for a time served as a member of the California Arts Council.

Reviews

[Mark Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very nice book. The Killion woodcuts are beautiful and the excerpts from John Muir are excellent.

This book is a little misleading though as it is credited to Snyder first, whose work is really secondary at best. His journals are to use his own words in the introduction "over-laconic" and at times reflect "my haste to put the pencil away and get some hot tea". Not his best work which is a shame as the work by Killion (woodcuts and writings) are first class.

[David Robertson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The High Sierra of California consists of five elements: (1) Tom Killion's superb, sublime woodblock prints, (2) a short preface by poet Gary Snyder, (3) a longer introductory essay by Tom Killion, (3) short excepts from John Muir's journals, and (5) excerpts and notes from Gary Snyder's journals produced during hiking trips in the High Sierra from 1955 through 1991. There is also a fascinating illustrated appendix in which Killion explains how he produces his prints. In this reader's opinion, the only reason to pick up this book is to enjoy, appreciate and linger over Killion's striking prints, some of which are color and others black-and-white. The preface and Killion's essay are forgettable. Muir's writing is typical Victorian verbose hyperbole (though I did find some insights in a few of the excerpts). Gary Snyder's journal excerpts...hmm. They constitute the vast majority of the book. They are unformed, stream of consciousness notes, jottings, thoughts, and observations. I have read a bit of Snyder's poetry and I don't appreciate his oeuvre; readers who like Snyder's work might find these musings useful to gain some perspective on his thinking.

[Chris]

Reading this book is as close as any of us are likely to get to spending a season with Gary Snyder in the sacred High Sierra. Killion’s woodcut illustrations are stunning. His line work captures the very sense of geologic time that resonates in the river basins and among the stoic stone peaks of the Sierra.

Like a trip through the wilderness, I could not read this book slowly enough to feel satisfied that I was truly capturing the wonder it offered. I will go back and expect it to be familiar and new each time.

[rachelm · Rating 4 out of 5]

A joyful read for anyone who loves the High Sierra — John Muir quotes, previously unpublished journals from Gary Snyder’s backpacking trips in the Sierras, and Tom Killion’s beautiful wood block prints.

[MTS · Rating 5 out of 5]

« Range after range of mountains
Year after year after year
I am still in love »

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading The High Sierra of California is like taking a long breath of cool, fresh mountain air. The combination of John Muir’s prose, Gary Snyder’s hiking journals, and Tom Killion’s full size color woodcut prints embodies the soul of the high Sierra, and demonstrates how it impacts human visitors. Each passage is given plenty of white space to encourage contemplation. Killion matched each of his artworks with a prose piece to compliment rather than illustrate. The result is a book of great physical beauty that evokes joy in nature loving readers.

Killion’s woodcuts are simply stunning. He renders mountains, forests, rocks, streams, and skies in extreme detail. He limits the number of hues in each print to the minimum that is needed for the subject, then mixes and gradates them to create a rich depth of field in each image. Despite incredible detail, the prints never seem busy or overdone. My favorites are his moonlit night scenes, which employ just blue and black (and white no-color areas). As an XC skier, I’m also partial to Milestone Mountain, in which a pair of double ski tracks glide over a rise on the way to the distant mountain, past a bare tree and rock outcrop.

John Muir and Gary Snyder provide the quintessential text compliment to Killion’s artwork. Muir’s effusive and somewhat formal descriptions of the landscape through which he wanders reflect the American post-Civil War language style. Snyder’s modern neo-Buddhist language style reduces description to a minimum. The two authors compliment one another perfectly. Killion himself adds chapters on how the book came together, reflections on the seasons in the mountains, and an illustrated description of his mountain artwork process.

You don’t need to be a high country hiker or a Sierra Nevada enthusiast to enjoy this book. Love of any mountains or of walking in nature is enough. Anyone who enjoys being in the wilderness, especially if intrigued by the idea of summer snow (or has experienced it), will like it. The High Sierra of California is also an awe-inspiring and not-too-large volume perfect for display on the proverbial coffee table.

[Emily]

My parents have this book and every time we visit, we spend hours reading it and staring at the prints. Gary Snyder is, without a doubt, my favorite poet. Tom Killian, the artist, is absolutely incredible as well- we have one of his prints of the Mendocino coastline on our wall. The book is a mini-vacation.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I need to find a copy of this book to own - I just love killion's art. His love for the landscape of California is borne put through every complexly composed print. Snyder's journal entries were less compelling though complimentary, the poetry reprinted from other volumes superb. The stillness of the Sierra's beauty just glows - under moonlight, at dusk. Lovely

[Grace Krilanovich · Rating 4 out of 5]

pretty pretty book of Gary Snyder's nature musings illustrated with woodblock prints by a Santa Cruz's own Tom Killion.

[anya · Rating 5 out of 5]

i loved this book, amazing woodcuts of mountains and spectacular text,

[Judi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have spent a lot of time hiking the Sierras. Tom Killion and Gary Snyder truly capture the majesty and magic.

[Jim Parker · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely stunningly beautiful book.

I am honored to have a signed copy.

[Tish · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wonderful illustrations of California landscapes.