In 2016, Mount Vision Press released Inverness poet David Bailey's debut book of poetry, Journeywork. Now we're publishing his second book, Wonderstudies.

The arc of Journeywork landed in a homecoming after years of traveling. Wonderstudies is what grew out of that newfound home and community, with the endless trove of forests, mountains, and wild beaches of Northern California. Wounds and shadows were waiting in that opening time, along with new light and inspiration, and the dual modalities of walking alone in nature and being with friends served to make the four years during which these poems were written as healing as they were challenging.

What anchors nearly every poem in Wonderstudies is an intention to make use of the insight, healing, and inspiration we receive—to, as the spiritual teacher Adyashanti put it, “widen our circle of regard” and “be a redemptive presence in the world.” The need for this has become all too clear, but it’s not enough to hear only about the dire state of things—we will only save what we love, and poetry has always offered us a chance to cleanse our doors of perception, see afresh this magnificent planet-home, to open our hearts to life in all its forms, and to let our innate gifts be activated by the state of need around us.

Paperback, 100 pages.