$45.00 U.S. (trade discount)
No e-book has been authorized.
Hardcover/PLC with jacket
160 pages with 90 photographs by the author (reproduced as tritones)
11.0″ x 10.0″ horizontal/landscape
ISBN: 978-1-960521-17-0
Forthcoming in November 2026
Distributed by Casemate/IPM
www.casemateipm.com
Published in association with the
Center for the Study of Place.
by James K. Papp
with essays by Rena Priest, Margaret Baumgartner, and Captain Mike Moore
An unforgettable journey into the waters of the Pacific Northwest!
Blessings of the Waters: From Glaciers to the Sea is photographer James K. Papp’s stunning and deeply felt homage to the waters in and around Washington state, where he has lived and worked for several decades. In addition to being a celebration of the waters’ beauty, Blessings of the Waters is an effort to alert residents and others to the perilous situation of Washington’s water as well as illustrate its vital importance to the diverse communities that depend on its abundance.
The book includes informative and heartfelt essays by the author, who also has had a long career in the maritime industry, award-winning poet and writer Rena Priest, a prominent member of the Lummi tribe, Margaret Baumgartner, an environmental advocate, and Mike Moore, the former longtime Captain of the Port of Puget Sound. Together they provide historic as well as contemporary perspectives on water in Washington, and illuminate the complex issues caused by the continual reduction in annual rain and snowfall, both of which are the direct result of climate change. Cities and towns large and small as well as industries ranging from subsistence to corporate agriculture and fishing to maritime commerce and trade are all adversely affected.
The Blessings of the Waters is an essential book for our times. Not only is it a beautiful book of stunning photographs and essays that inform and enlighten, but also a clarion call to readers no matter where they live to consider their own relationship to this essential resource and how they might find effective means to conserve it at a time when demand is on the rise and availability is on the decline due to a changing climate.
About
About the Author
James K. Papp is a photographer and writer inspired by the mystery and awe of nature––particularly in the waters around Washington State, where he has lived for many years. During his 40-year career in marine shipping running his own company with offices on the West Coast, Gulf Coast, and Hawai’i, he spent his free time hiking and camping along the streams, lakes, and snowfields of the Cascade Mountain Range. For him, the camera’s lens is a magical portal to connect more deeply with the world. The result is Blessings of the Waters: From Glaciers to the Sea, which pays homage to his love of water, the practical aspects of working in the multi-faceted maritime industry, and to the spiritual teachings of Mayan spirituality in which he has been trained. Together with his wife of forty years, Lisa Papp, he creates and publishes inspirational books at InquireWithin.com and his Website is www.jameskpapp.com.
About the Contributors
Rena Priest is an enrolled member of the Lhaq’temish (Lummi) Nation. She served as the sixth Poet Laureate of Washington State (2021–2023) and is the recipient of numerous awards, including the 2024 Washington State Book Award, the 2018 American Book Award for her first collection, Patriarchy Blues (Amazon, 2017), and fellowships from the Academy of American Poets and Indigenous Nations Poets. From 2021 to 2024, she periodically toured the country as part of an all-Indigenous ensemble Welcome to Indian Country. In 2024, she served as a judge for the 50th annual National Book Award. Her poetry and non-fiction appear widely online and in print. She holds an M.F.A. from Sarah Lawrence College.
Captain Mike Moore retired in 2002 from the U.S. Coast Guard as Captain of the Port, Puget Sound, Washington, after a long and distinguished career. He currently serves as Chair of the Emergency Response Towing Vessel Compliance Group, Vice Chair of the Alaska Chadux Network, which was previously known the Alaska Maritime Prevention & Response Network), and Vice President for the Puget Sound Steamship Operators Association. The recipient of numerous awards, including the Vice President Gore Hammer Award, and the Legion of Merit, he also holds an M. A. in Marine Affairs from the University of Washington and is a graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, where he later directed the Marine Science program and was inducted into the Coast Guard Academy Athletic Hall of Fame.
Margaret Baumgartner is a writer based in Washington state who channels her passion for nature and journalism into pieces on environmental concerns and scientific research that are accessible to everyone. Her work has been published in the Salish Current, as well as in two publications from Western Washington University, the newspaper, The Front, and Klipsun Magazine. She holds both a B.S. in environmental science and a B.A. in news journalism from Western Washington State University.
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