book
A Renaissance man of creative leanings, Brian H. Peterson has written a new collection of stories, essays, poetry, and images, drawing on his lifelong dedication to creativity and the arts. As a writer, photographer, musician, and teacher, Peterson’s more than five decades of “in the trenches” experience fills the pages of his new title, “I Give My Eyes...” (Apr. 6, 2018, Due Santi Press, Bethlehem, PA).
A reflection on faith, art, and Peterson’s ongoing battle with Parkinson’s disease, “I Give My Eyes...” employs bittersweet humor, clear-eyed nostalgia, and a rhythmic prose style that creates a memorable and beautifully nuanced read. Art lovers and artists, seekers of substance, and anyone who enjoys holding a beautiful book in their hands will have a deep affinity for this title as readers get to know a man who’s dedicated his life to the things he loves.
“I Give My Eyes...” is both spiritual autobiography and a story of healing and salvation. Author, artist, and museum curator Brian H. Peterson looks back on a creative life and reflects on his own search for the deeper layers, the “substrata.” In luminous, poetic prose, he ties together private and public, inward and outward journeys, struggling with the realities of advancing Parkinson’s disease while discovering an affirmation of belief that embraces suffering and doubt.
“Somewhere there, in the middle, in the air between us, a door opens and a breath, a zephyr of love flows through. Invisible, fleeting, but is there anything more real? Anything more, somehow, permanent?”
Brian H. Peterson has more than forty years’ experience as a curator, critic, visual artist, musician, and arts administrator. His photographs are in the collections of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Amon Carter Museum, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, the Denver Art Museum, among others. As the Gerry and Marguerite Lenfest Chief Curator at the Michener Art Museum (1990–2013), he managed the exhibition program, curated historic and contemporary exhibitions, and was the editor and principal author of the landmark publication Pennsylvania Impressionism (2002). The author of two prior collections of essays— The Smile at the Heart of Things (2009) and The Blossoming of the World (2011)—Peterson has contributed critical writing to the Los Angeles Times , the Philadelphia Inquirer , American Arts Quarterly , and the Photo Review . In retirement he has taken up videography while continuing his work as a writer and photographer. His 1981 song cycle “Moon Songs,” based on the poetry of E. E. Cummings, was featured on the CD Modern American Art Song (2015) with mezzo-soprano Sharon Mabry.