BY KAREN BOSSICK
Kim Frank, an award-winning Ketchum writer and photographer will discuss her new book, Elephants in the Hourglass: A Journey of Reckoning and Hope Along the Himalaya, at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, May 29, at The Community Library.
Elephants in the Hourglass blends personal narrative, vivid descriptions and meticulous research as she illuminates the ways we seek to survive on our rapidly changing planet. It is a moving and adventure-filled tale of one woman’s quest for the truth about endangered Asian elephants and their evolving relationship with humans, according to Martha Williams, programs director at The Library.
“It’s an honor to return to The Community Library and share this story that began in the Himalayan foothills but echoes the wildness and wonder of this place I’ve called home for 33 years,” said Frank. “My work explores the fragile and fraught tension between humans and wild elephants in India—a story that, at its heart, speaks to a similar coexistence we strive for with wildlife here in Idaho.”
Kim found her life completely changed as she was drawn deeper and deeper into the plight of the Asian elephant. Once she learned about the intense, multi-faceted, but little-known conflict between humans and elephants in North India, she was unable to rest until she had learned more and told this story to the outside world.
The story, Frank says, begins in the “Chicken Neck of India” where wild Asian elephants once roamed freely through dense forests and jungles, where local people lived in harmony with nature respecting elephants as gods and where monsoon season was celebrated for the abundance of rainfall necessary for living things to survive.
But things changed as new tea plantations, highways, train tracks and human settlements began blocking elephants’ natural migration patterns. In 2017 an 18-kilometer electric fence was erected on the border to keep elephants out of Nepal, and that resulted in the need for an increased military presence to protect human inhabitants as elephants pooled in villages with the remaining forests no longer able to provide enough food for the demands.
Wild Asian elephants number fewer than 50,000—a 50 percent decline over the last three generations. a hundred elephants die in this country each year due to illegal electric fencing, collisions with trains on the “killer track,” and other obstacles.
“The foundation of this book is that if you want to fix something, you have to act. That can mean anything from a small personal step to a giant leap into the unknown. Telling stories that have the power to make a difference is my deepest motivation. It makes facing my fears worth the risk. I hope (readers) find something in these stories that speak to (them),” said Frank.
Frank's projects have included the books Born to Ice with National Geographic photographer Paul Nicklen and Amaze with SeaLegacy founder Cristina Mittermeier.
She is a Fellow of The Explorers Club and the Royal Geographical Society, with a Master of Fine Arts from the MFA Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College and a Master of Social Work from the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy & Practice.
Those wishing to see the presentation in person should RSVP at https://thecommunitylibrary.libcal.com/event/13985507. The program will also be livestreamed but registration is required to receive the link.