On Exhibit February 1 – February 28, 2011
Ramsey Library's Blowers Gallery

Slideshow and Poetry Reading
Feb. 8th
12:30-1:30
Ramsey Library Whitman Room

The Soul Tree: Poems and Photographs of the Southern Appalachians is a collaboration of poet Laura Hope-Gill, an NC Arts Fellow and WordFest Poetry Festival founder/director, and Asheville Citizen-Times photographer John Fletcher, Jr., whose 20-year career has included clients such as USA Today, The Associated Press, The Washington Post, and the New York Times.

The hard-cover book of 108 pages features lush images of the Southern Appalachians
accompanied by lyric poems written in resonance with the images. This exhibition features
images and poems from the book, as well as recent work inspired by The Soul Tree.

The photographs, which capture the essence of the uniquely beautiful Southern Appalachian
landscapes, are accompanied by the haunting lyric poems. The poems illuminate themes of
vision, faith, healing and the sacredness of nature while the photographs capture both the form
and spirit of the land; together, they make a book which will deeply reward lengthy study.