Wilderness Bardo (chapbook)
SKU:
$16.00
$16.00
per item
Drawn from weeks spent in Montana's Bob Marshall Wilderness as an Artist-in-Residence, Wilderness Bardo is an extraordinary collection of poems exploring solitude, rivers, grizzly bears, birds, wildfire, mountains, memory, and the quiet transformations that occur when we remain attentive to the living world. Structured around the movements of Gathering, Being, and Becoming, Michael Garrigan's poems discover that wilderness is not simply a destination but a way of seeing—a continual practice of listening, noticing, and learning to inhabit the earth with greater humility and wonder. Lyrical, contemplative, and deeply rooted in place, Wilderness Bardo reminds us that the wild is not somewhere beyond us. It waits patiently for us to remember that we have always belonged to it.
This translation of the Bob Marshall Wilderness is a joyous cascade of nouns and transitions highlighting “the unseen / in-between” found when we stop to examine the pauses that exist in the wild. These poems are a lucky thing for all of us. Garrigan’s eyes, restful yet curious, active and alive, reveal a magnificent place, and remind us to take the time to discover the transitory language of stones, bones, and wildflowers. I’m grateful for this collection.
—Andrew C. Gottlieb, author of Tales of a Distance
These poems transport us, with language as clear and lyrical as a cold trout stream, to the backcountry’s forested mountains alive with bears and berries, evoking a rugged and beautiful landscape where “the languages of … heart / and body finally speak in concert.” This is poetry as forest: a lush tangle of life, death, and timeless connection, a natural rejoicing that speaks through human and nonhuman voices alike to offer a true “fellowship of wildness.”
—Kristen Lindquist, naturalist and author of ISLAND
In this richly detailed gathering of poems, Michael Garrigan invites readers out to the backcountry where he is most at home. With him, we experience summer storms in the high country, breathtakingly cold alpine lakes, sweat-soaked midafternoon uphill hikes, and—most notably— the exquisite pleasure of sitting still, senses attuned to the fellow creatures who come to visit: the mighty elk and grizzly bear, the Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Water Ouzel, and Ruby-crowned Kinglet. An hour spent with Wilderness Bardo will hone your tools for seeing and whet your appetite for wild places.
—Rick Kempa, editor, Deep Wild: Writing from the Backcountry
This translation of the Bob Marshall Wilderness is a joyous cascade of nouns and transitions highlighting “the unseen / in-between” found when we stop to examine the pauses that exist in the wild. These poems are a lucky thing for all of us. Garrigan’s eyes, restful yet curious, active and alive, reveal a magnificent place, and remind us to take the time to discover the transitory language of stones, bones, and wildflowers. I’m grateful for this collection.
—Andrew C. Gottlieb, author of Tales of a Distance
These poems transport us, with language as clear and lyrical as a cold trout stream, to the backcountry’s forested mountains alive with bears and berries, evoking a rugged and beautiful landscape where “the languages of … heart / and body finally speak in concert.” This is poetry as forest: a lush tangle of life, death, and timeless connection, a natural rejoicing that speaks through human and nonhuman voices alike to offer a true “fellowship of wildness.”
—Kristen Lindquist, naturalist and author of ISLAND
In this richly detailed gathering of poems, Michael Garrigan invites readers out to the backcountry where he is most at home. With him, we experience summer storms in the high country, breathtakingly cold alpine lakes, sweat-soaked midafternoon uphill hikes, and—most notably— the exquisite pleasure of sitting still, senses attuned to the fellow creatures who come to visit: the mighty elk and grizzly bear, the Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Water Ouzel, and Ruby-crowned Kinglet. An hour spent with Wilderness Bardo will hone your tools for seeing and whet your appetite for wild places.
—Rick Kempa, editor, Deep Wild: Writing from the Backcountry
