Visibility: Ten Miles

Visibility: Ten Miles is a collaboration of poetry and photography between Sharon Chmielarz, poet, and Ken Smith, photographer. Both are well acquainted with the prairie; hence these photos and poems include not only grasslands but also the unusual only insiders have seen. These images come from two angles, what the eye sees and what the heart responds to. The title suggests the ability on the prairie to see in distances of miles, not of city blocks or minutes. Here it can suggest something more lies ahead which is unseen. And that is what this book brings to the reader–what might be unseen or unremembered or not yet imagined to the eye.

Ken Smith Ken Smith, a native of Western Colorado, lives in North Dakota, where he and his wife, Robin, raised six children. Ken holds an M.A. and D.A. in history from the University of North Dakota. After teaching in high school and college, he’s attending North Dakota State University, working toward a Ph.D. in Great Plains History. 

Sharon Chmielarz Sharon Chmielarz, born and raised in Mobridge, South Dakota, has had eight books of poetry published: Love from the Yellowstone Trail has been called “uniquely American,” “finely crafted,” “powerful,” “a joy to read.” She has been a finalist in the National Poetry Series, nominated several times for a Pushcart Prize and featured on American Life in Poetry.