The Memory of Stone: Meditations on the Canyons of the West

This intimate portrait of the Colorado Plateau celebrates the landscape in photographs and writing. Erv Schroeder’s photographs bear witness to the primordial forces of the earth—the raw power that moved and shifted huge hunks of rock to form natural stone sculptures. Schroeder’s prints engage the viewer on an intimate level, acting as portals to contemplative worlds, inviting the viewer on an inner journey. As further guides to the landscape and its significance, he has invited indigenous writers—Natanya Ann Pulley, Rainy Dawn, Esther G. Belin, Orlando White, and Tacey M. Atsitty—to contribute poems that speak about these places. Celebrated Acoma storyteller Simon J. Ortiz introduces the photography and poetry with his musings on stone. In addition, an essay by geologist Marcia Bjornerud explores the geology of the region.