Sierra College publishes The Illuminated Landscape: A Sierra Nevada Anthology and schedules book events for June 2010

Landscape: A Sierra Nevada Anthology. It is available in bookstores and online. It is the first trade publication of the Sierra College Press, which was founded in 2002 to publish Standing Guard: Telling Our Stories, the award-winning examination of Japanese American internment during World War II.

The essays, poetry, and stories presented in The Illuminated Landscape encompass the entire Sierra Nevada experience: an ancient creation myth involving an unlikely contest between Hawk and Crow, vignettes of life in mining camps, a curious deer taking a stroll Sierra College has published an anthology on the Sierra Nevada entitled The Illuminated through Beetle Rock, the impact a simple camping trip can make, the solace felt by a family held in an internment camp, an enlightening attempt to climb Matterhorn Peak; and many more. Excerpts from well-known writers such as Henry David Thoreau, Mark Twain, Mary Austin, Wallace Stegner, Gary Snyder, T. Coraghessan Boyle, and Ishmael Reed as well as original works from local authors reveal how important the Sierra has become to our cultural psyche as an irreplaceable refuge for our spirits.

The Illuminated Landscape comes at a critical point. With the power of the written word to inspire, energize, and challenge, this anthology shines a light on what is at risk for the Sierra Nevada today and reinforces the importance of sustaining its beauty and ecological diversity.

The anthology is co-published by Heyday Books of Berkeley and Santa Clara University. The anthology is part of Santa Clara's prestigious California Legacy series.

To celebrate the launch of the book, a number of presentations and book signings are scheduled. Here is the schedule for June 2010:

June 6 - North Columbia Schoolhouse, out of Nevada City near Malakoff Diggins- - panel discussion on community history and media - SC Press will participate and the book will be available for purchase - 5 - 8 PM. For more info, go to www.northcolumbiaschoolhouse.org

June 12 - Presentation/book signing at Nevada City Winery 3 - 5 PM. For more info, go to www.nevadacitywinery.com

June 16 - Presentation/book signing at Santa Clara Central Park Library, in association with Santa Clara University 7 PM. For more info, go to http://library.santaclaraca.gov/index.aspx?page=8

June 18 - Teaching of American History Grant Program presentation at Granlibakken, Lake Tahoe - 8:30 AM - 11 AM

June 21 - presentation/book signing at Rocklin Historical Society - 7 PM. For more info, go to www.rocklinhistory.org

For more details about these events and others, log on to "Upcoming Events" on the Heyday Books website at www.heydaybooks.com or to the Sierra College Press webpage at www.sierracollege.edu/press

For more information about the anthology, log on to http://www.heydaybooks.com/anthologies/the-illuminated-landscape-a-si.html