elisabeth freligh / NL Author Mary Beth Holleman is a creative writing and women’s studies professor at UAA. She read aloud from her new book about the effects of the Exxon Valdez oil spill.

Speaking for the sound

By Toni Jabas
Special to the Northern Light

Choosing this book for its cover won’t be a disappointment. Just ask the nearly 70 people who crowded into a lecture room to hear the first public reading from, “The Heart of the Sound: An Alaskan Paradise Found and Nearly Lost.” Mary Beth Holleman, who teaches creative writing and women’s studies at the University of Alaska Anchorage, wrote the book.

“The Heart of the Sound” is the story of Holleman’s personal experiences with Prince William Sound before, during and after the Exxon Valdez oil spill in March of 1989.

Holleman says that she “wanted to speak for the sound” through the book. By portraying her passion for the things in and around Prince William Sound, Holleman said she hoped to give readers a sense of wonder and appreciation for them as well.

With a degree in environmental studies from North Carolina Chapel Hill and a Master of Fine Arts degree in creative writing from UAA, Holleman has used her knowledge of nature and her talent with language to create a book that is educational, entertaining and inspirational.

Through her book Holleman said that she wants people to have a strong sense of what it is like to connect with something. Her connection with Prince William Sound was apparent from the first selection she read Friday night.

It was a piece from the first part of the book, describing glaciers calving into the pre-spill sound. Each word seemed handpicked to take listeners and readers to that point in time and let them watch the event unfold.

Holleman read some other selections about kayak trips in the sound when otters or killer whales were playing in the water around her. She talked about looking through water clear enough to see all the different kinds of plants and colors of the sea stars.

The second part of the book describes the shock and helplessness felt by Holleman and others as they saw the destruction of the oil spill unfold. Holleman chose to read a piece about going to Homer to help rescue oiled sea birds. The trip was a disappointment because, for all her efforts, she was only able to rescue one oiled bird.

By showing the emotional as well as the physical damage resulting from the oil spill, Holleman said that she hopes people will be more likely to try to prevent similar disasters from happening.

Holleman said that she has wanted to write this book for a long time, but had to live it first. She began the work of putting her thoughts, memories, old journal entries and bits of essays into the book six years ago.

As she finished reading her last piece to the audience, Holleman held up a glass jar with black crude oil inside. She said her husband gathered it the day before from Knight Island in Prince William Sound.

“It’s still out there,” Holleman reminded the audience.

She said that it was a special thing to give her first reading from “The Heart of the Sound” at UAA.

“I felt like I was in a dream that I had had for a while,” said Holleman. “It exceeded my expectations.”

For more information on Holleman and “The Heart of the Sound,” visit her Web site at marybethholleman.com. Holleman will be giving several other readings around Anchorage, including one on March 24, the anniversary day of the oil spill, at the Z.J. Loussac Library at 7 p.m. and another reading 7:30 p.m. at Tidal Wave for Earth Day on April 22.

Holleman held up a glass jar with black crude oil inside. She said her husband gathered it the day before from Knight Island in Prince William Sound. “It’s still out there,” Holleman reminded the audience.