Yankee Wisdom 2009 Calendar

from Thoreau, Emily Dickinson, the Old Farmer's Almanac, and more

New England photographs by Jane English, Walter H. James, and others

Yankees are proud of their resilience, toughness and dry humor. From their origins in the search for freedom and a new life, Yankees have represented pragmatism, ingenuity and optimism. Religious toleration was established in Rhode Island; the anti-slavery movement was based in Massachusetts, where Transcendentalists opened minds to new ideas. The enduring ocean and bedrock granite typify Yankee spirit and wisdom, shaping the character of people ready to work together while prizing their individuality.

The Calendar
Our Yankee Wisdom calendar evolved from the American Transcendental calendar and card line. American transcendentalism was an important and highly influential movement in philosophy and literature that flourished, especially in New England, during the first half of the nineteenth century. Photographs of the peaceful New England landscape bring the spirit of the Yankee into focus.

The photographs and the photographers
The large color photographs are by Jane English, whose photographs are also featured in the annual Tao, Mount Shasta, and Mystical Path ­ Practical Feet calendars, also published by Amber Lotus. A true Yankee herself, Jane grew up in New England and graduated from Mount Holyoke College. She went on to earn a PhD in experimental sub-atomic particle physics, but left the world of science to focus on photography and writing. She created with Gia-fu Feng the best-selling edition of the Chinese classic Tao Te Ching, as well as the recently re-released companion volume Chuang Tsu's Inner Chapters (Amber Lotus Publishing, 2008). She founded Earth Heart publishing in 1985, and has since produced many books and calendars with Amber Lotus. Discover more about Jane English and her creative work at www.eheart.com. Additional photographs by Jane's father, Benjamin W. English and Jane's brother, Ben English Jr.

The small photographs are by Jane's grandfather, Walter H. James, who with his wife, Ida Rachel, an avid reader of Thoreau and Emerson, ventured into the New England countryside and mountains from 1899 into the 1920s. James's collection contains prints, glass and film negatives, and glass lantern slides. Our Mountain Trips ­ Parts I & II are profusely illustrated books of Walter and Ida Rachel James's accounts of their camping and hiking trips in the White Mountains of New Hampshire from 1899 to the 1920s. See these books also at www.eheart.com.

The photographs are accompanied by the thoughtful ponderings of Emerson, Dickinson and Thoreau mixed with the down-home humor and advice of The Old Farmer's Almanac along with selections from Walter and Ida James's own writings. Quotations were selected by Barbara Douglass. Barbara has taught high school English and writing for 34 years in New Hampshire and Maine. She lives in an 18th-century farmhouse in New Hampshire that is long on charm but short on convenience.

See the back cover other large photographs and a sample spread with upper and lower pages

$13.99
12" x 12"
Published by Amber Lotus

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