Far off the coast of mainland Alaska lie the remote Pribilof Islands—a fiercely isolated wilderness surrounded by a wild, rich sea. The largest island, St. Paul, is just fourteen miles long and eight wide; despite its small size and relative self-enclosure, Sumner MacLeish lived and worked on the island, coming to love its rugged weather, abundant wildlife, and 600 native Aleuts. Her spare, imagistic prose illuminates the unforgiving darkness and unimaginable beauty of this subarctic landscape, and the pieces in Seven Words for Wind relate her own experience with attentive, open curiosity that finds light, humor, and companionship where it might least be expected.

Sumner MacLeish came to Alaska’s Pribilof Islands in 1984 to produce a documentary on the U.S. government’s commercial sealing industry. She has worked as a reporter and photographer in New England, California, and Alaska, producing several documentaries for National Public Radio and commenting for Alaska Public Radio.