In the wilderness, Michael Benanav, a critically-acclaimed writer and photographer, often runs into nomads. Their profoundly archetypal lifestyles inevitably appear in Benanav’s work which features archetypal themes of home, ancestors, and tradition.
After writing about his experiences with one of the last working camel caravans in the world, which runs an ancient salt trading route in the Sahara desert, and penning a poignant story of how his own grandparents survived the Holocaust during World War II, Benanav’s third book, Himalaya Bound: One Family's Quest to Save Their Animals & an Ancient Way of Life ( due out in January, 2018), recounts how he traveled to India and joined a family in a tribe of nomadic water buffalo herders.
Throughout it all, Benanav has made some astute observations about ecological crises and cultural differences between the United States and countries he has traveled to, and reveals how his degree from the Counseling program at Pacifica Graduate Institute has played a critical role in his work.
Benanav’s work has also appeared in publications like The New York Times, Geographical Magazine, Lonely Planet Guidebooks, and CNN.com, among others.
Listen to my new interview or read a detailed summary article, “Photography and Writing: Into the Heart of Traditional Cultures in Times of Global Change”: http://www.pacificapost.com/photography-and-writing-into-the-heart-of-traditional-cultures-in-times-of-global-change
