SUBMITTED NEWS RELEASE
Given unprecedented access over the past decade to some of Egypt’s oldest and holiest temples and sites, San Francisco photographer Natalie Hoogasian and poet Sandra Lehti-Culjak have returned to tell the tales, with stunning images, stories and poetry recently published in their award-winning new book, In This My Beautiful Egypt.
The authors will share their experiences during a lecture and book signing event Wednesday, Dec. 8, 6:30 p.m., at Sundance Bookstore, 1155 W. 4th St., in Reno. The event is free, and books will be available for purchase and signing by the authors.
Published by Channel Photographics, In This My Beautiful Egypt was launched in Europe at the Frankfurt Book Fair in October after winning design awards in San Francisco earlier this year. “The book has already been embraced in the U.S., and our publishers realized their most successful sales ever for a pre-launch event, which we held in San Francisco this fall,” said Lehti-Culjak. “We’re also excited about the support we’ve received in Egypt through the Egyptian National Bank, which has already ordered several thousand copies as gifts for its customers.”
In This My Beautiful Egypt includes documentary photography and poetry compiled by Hoogasian and Lehti-Culjak after several trips to Egypt. The women were given private access to some of Egypt’s most famous and lesser-known temples in the early dawn hours before any other tourists were allowed in.
“Natalie is a professional photographer with an incredible eye. She used the morning light to capture evocative, stunningly beautiful images,” said Lehti-Culjak, a retired family counselor and art therapist. “I used the solitude to transcribe poetry that includes references to Egyptian mythology and deities that sometimes seemed to emerge literally from the ethers during our quiet time in the temples.”
For more about the book, visit www.channelphotographics.com/beautifulegypt.php.
For more about the work of photographer Natalie Hoogasian, visit www.nataliehoogasian.com.
For more information about the lecture and book-signing event, call Sundance Bookstore, 775-786-1188, or visit http://www.sundancebookstore.com.
