"One of the paradigmatic images of creation
is the island that suddenly manifests itself
in the midst of the waves.

Mircea Eliade, The Sacred and the Profane

Island Hills Books is an online publishing house, distribution center, and showcase for literature that focuses on the spirit of place. The name Island Hills is a translation of the Lakota (Sioux) phrase Wita Paha, referring to the Black Hills of South Dakota in the middle of the North American continent. Also known as "the Heart of Everything That Is," they form an axis mundi, or Center of the World-- merely one out of countless pivotal sites around the globe native peoples have relished and worshipped for thousands of years. The Island Hills continue to provide sanctuary and visions, plenitude and songs for all.

Books, of course, are described, reviewed, and peddled at Island Hills Books. (At present only Gary David's books are offered, but I hope this will eventually change.)

Many readers may first want to sample the distinctive writers in the Works section. Conceptualized as archival rather than ephemeral, this Online Chapbook series seeks to redress both the scatter-shot approach of many lit-mags and the trendiness of blogs, or, as someone has quipped, "autoblography"-- what has essentially become the cyber-version of "the private-soul-at-any-public-wall." (Charles Olson)

A slowly growing number of poem-sequences, excerpts of long poems and novels, essays, and short fictions are available here for your perusal. Please email me with any corrections or suggestions.

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