 Reviews "These images are of course penetrating and powerful--but I find the poems make them better, slowing down my contemplation, giving me something to rub against. A real feat!” -Bill McKibben, author of Here Comes the Sun "Larson’s best work sits in its honesty. Each poem feels found, not forced. He ties observation to emotion in a way that lets a line about pine needles or kitchen vanilla carry an entire life. His rhythm is steady, and his eye for detail keeps even the smallest scene alive...This book fits with the kind of modern nature writing that looks less for untouched wilderness and more for what survives inside it. It leans toward poets who write travel as self-inventory, Mary Oliver if she had a sharper tongue and fewer sunsets. The mix of poem and photograph puts it somewhere between lyric memoir and field guide, but without the tidy lessons those books usually chase." - Sam Wright, Editor   Book DescriptionIn this striking collection of poems and photographs, Nathan Larson gathers fragments of landscapes and human longing. From Arctic shores to desert nights, from mountain ridges to the Gulf, Larson’s work traces how memory, observation, and wild spaces shape our inner lives. At its heart, Field Notes on Avoidance asks what it means to belong: to land, to memory, to one another. Stark, tender, and unflinching, Larson is a poet of attention, carrying readers through detours that feel both deeply personal and universally human. Featuring three cover variants, over 60 original poems and 50 photographs, Field Notes on Avoidance is an immersive visual experience that allows your imagination to wander our natural and emotional world. Limited First Edition Printing Details:
Available exclusively at nathanlarson.com and select booksellers. A Salve for the Digital WorldCobalt thread visible on a naked spine. Premium European papers. A tactile artifact. Field Notes on Avoidance is crafted as an object of devotion, built to be seen, touched, revisited, and shared. Each 8x10 volume features 128 pages printed on Munken paper, chosen for its soft texture and natural tone that echoes the organic subjects within. Fedrigoni endpapers lend strength to the interior, while an exposed binding reveals a timeless craftsmanship and evokes the field journals that were the inspiration for the collection. Three distinct cover variants invite you to experience Field Notes on Avoidance in multiple ways, each one an aesthetic reflection: austere landscape, fleeting light, and contemplative stillness. Each limited first-edition printing is a piece of art. Hold it. Feel the weight of paper and thread. Let the book remind you what it means to slow down, observe, and immerse yourself. USE CODE "ACCESSUTAH" AT CHECKOUT FOR 40% OFF THE FIRST EDITION. |
Field Notes on Avoidance
About the Author & Other Editions
Explore the photographs from the book: Browse the Field Notes on Avoidance photograph collection to view individual artworks and available fine art print editions.
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Nathan Larson grew up across the United States, from the Rocky Mountains to the Green Mountains. He discovered photography at a young age and began writing poetry and essays while studying at the University of Chicago.
His path has been anything but a straight line: he has worked as a roofer, dug hazardous waste pits in the western deserts, founded a theatre company, helped reintroduce the Mexican wolf in the Southwest, and owned and operated outdoor adventure schools and retail shops across the U.S. and Canada. He co-founded a gastropub in a restored railway station and, with his siblings, a small luxury inn in the former home of Maxwell Perkins, the legendary editor of Hemingway and Fitzgerald.
Larson has published two monographs—Avian and Cloud Hunter, as well as two books in the Why We Stay series. His photographs have appeared in magazines, on book covers, and in galleries and collections around the world. His licensed work is currently represented by Wild Apple Graphics.