Songs of Ancient Journeys: Animals in Rock Art
by Elsa Marston

December 5, 2005
Paperback, 52 pages
9.8 x 7.5 x 0.4 inches

ISBN-13: 978-0807615638
$16.95 (Can $18.95)

Songs of Ancient Journeys: Animals in Rock Art is a collection of fourteen short poems inspired by animals depicted in the rock art of the American southwest. Humans of this region have left innumerable images on rock, depicting the animals native to this mystic landscape. Shrouded in mystery, the origins of these drawings are still unknown.

This short illustrated book of poetry and rock art pursues the unknown explanation of these images by delivering the animals’ testimonial in the form of a poem. These poems convey the rite of passage of these animals found in the rock art. Each poem is accompanied by a reproduction of a rock art image depicting the animal as well as a note that describes the possible meanings of the image in Native American mythology.

This project is a melodic blend of poetry, Native American culture, and natural history. Songs of Ancient Journeys will inspire young readers to view the figures in their own light and imagine what they represented to the people who made them.

Elsa Marston is the author of many works of fiction and nonfiction, including illustrated books, and novels, such as Figs and Fate: Stories About Growing Up in the Arab World Today, Women of the Middle East: Tradition and Change, The Ugly Goddess, and The Griffin in the Garden. She earned her Masters in International Affairs from Harvard University and an M.S. in Art Education from Indiana University. Marston resides in Bloomington, Indiana, with her husband, Iliya Harik.