Elizabeth Bradfield Libri

Kali Lightfoot’s kindergarten teacher told her parents that Kali had “a well-developed sense of beauty and can skip with both feet.” This proved prophetic for a life that has included a number of careers and passions—Lightfoot has earned a master's degree in physical education, worked as an executive and a teacher, served as a wilderness ranger, managed educational travel, and provided body-oriented psychotherapy. After gaining her sobriety and coming out as queer, Lightfoot returned to poetry at the age of sixty-five, earning her MFA at age seventy. In a debut collection of poems that favor a narrative style but also experiment successfully with poetic forms, Lightfoot writes in a voice that is by turns wistful, comedic, and grave. After a long career, she has come late and happily to a life in poetry.

Focusing on the experiences of renowned polar explorers like Symmes, Mawson, and Shackleton, Elizabeth Bradfield captures the thrilling and perilous journey of polar exploration. Through their perspectives and her own insights, she reveals the remarkable wonders and formidable challenges—both physical and psychological—faced in the quest to conquer the planet's most inhospitable areas. This collection offers a compelling blend of adventure and introspection, highlighting the resilience of those drawn to the extreme conditions of the polar regions.

In a unique collaboration that spans two years, visual artist Antonia Contro and poet Elizabeth Bradfield intertwine their creative expressions to craft a multi-sensory book experience. The project, initiated in the summer of 2017, showcases a dialogue between their art and poetry, resulting in a rich interplay of visuals and lyrical content that invites readers to engage with both mediums in a profound way.

*Selected as a Top 10 Must-Read Book About Antarctica by the International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators Poet-naturalist Elizabeth Bradfield’s fourth collection, Toward Antarctica , documents and queries her work as a guide on ships in Antarctica, offering an incisive insider’s vision that challenges traditional tropes of The Last Continent. Inspired by haibun, a stylistic form of Japanese poetry invented by 17th-century poet, Matsuo Bashō to chronicle his journeys in remote Japan, Bradfield uses photographs, compressed prose, and short poems to examine our relationship to remoteness, discovery, expertise, awe, labor, temporary societies, “pure” landscapes, and tourism’s service economy. Antarctica was the focus of Bradfield’s Approaching Ice , written before she had set foot on the continent; now Toward Antarctica furthers her investigation with boots on the ground. A complicated love letter, Toward Antarctica offers a unique view of one of the world’s most iconic wild places.

With a focus on the harsh realities of polar expeditions, the author crafts vivid, lyrical narratives that explore the challenges faced by explorers in extreme environments. The book delves into themes of survival, human endurance, and the beauty of the icy landscapes. Through rich imagery and emotional depth, it captures the spirit of adventure and the profound connection between humanity and nature, offering readers a compelling glimpse into the world of exploration in the polar regions.