HANUT, Eryk 1967-

PERSONAL:

Born May 26, 1967; partner of Andrew Harvey since 1994. Ethnicity: "White." Education: Attended Brussels Conservatory of Music, 1985, and Paris School of Photography. Politics: Democrat. Religion: Christian. Hobbies and other interests: Animal welfare, animal rights.

ADDRESSES:

Office—4045 South Suffalo Dr., No. A101-420, Las Vegas, NV 89147. Agent—Thomas Grady Agency, 209 Basset, Petaluma, CA 94952. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Author and photographer. Freelance photographer for magazines and publishers, including Putnam & Sons, 1997—. Center for the Divine Feminine, San Francisco, CA, director.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Benjamin Franklin Award for Best Spiritual Book, 1997, for Mary's Vineyard; Body, Mind, and Spirit Award of Excellence, 1996.

WRITINGS:

I Wish You Love: Conversations with Marlene Dietrich, translated from the French by Anne-Pauline de Castries, Frog (Berkeley, CA), 1996.

(With partner, Andrew Harvey, and photographer) Mary's Vineyard: Daily Meditations, Readings, and Revelations, Theosophical Publishing House (Wheaton, IL), 1996.

(With Andrew Harvey, and photographer) Perfume of the Desert: Inspirations from Sufi Wisdom, Quest Books (Wheaton, IL), 1999.

(With Michele Wetherbee) Rumi: The Card and Book Pack: Meditation, Inspiration, Self-Discovery, Journey Editions (Boston, MA), 2000.

The Road to Guadalupe: A Modern Pilgrimage to the Goddess of the Americas, Tarcher-Putnam (New York, NY), 2001.

Blessings of Guadalupe, Council Oak, 2002.

Contributor of photographs to books, including Son of Man: The Mystical Path to Christ and Light upon Light. Contributor to periodicals, including Conde Nast Traveler, Elle, Vogue, and Yoga Journal.

WORK IN PROGRESS:

Jazz Mediterraneen, a memoir, to be published by Tarcher-Putnam; a stage adaptation of I Wish You Love: Conversations with Marlene Dietrich.

SIDELIGHTS:

Inspirational writer and photographer Eryk Hanut studied theatre and photography at schools in Brussels and Paris, then moved to the United States in 1993 to pursue his passion for writing. Hanut is best known as the author of The Road to Guadalupe: A Modern Pilgrimage to the Goddess of the Americas, in which he describes his pilgrimage to Mexico City and "interweaves the fantastic story of the Lady of Guadalupe with a piquant, deliciously iconoclastic account of his own pilgrimage," according to a reviewer for Publishers Weekly.

The Road to Guadalupe brings readers closer to the enchanting story of the Lady of Guadalupe, a vision that first appeared to a poor Mexican named Juan Diego in 1531. Hanut visited the site in 1988, and in his recollections of that pilgrimage alternately describes what he knows and imagines of Diego's experiences alongside his own. "Irreverent and lighthearted on the one hand, serious and upsetting on the other, Hanut's essays will hold equal appeal for the devout and the skeptical," stated a contributor to Kirkus Reviews. In Library Journal Stephen Joseph called Hanut "a skillful observer" who "brings life to the characters he meets." While Hanut falls somewhere between true believer and skeptic, he delivers his story with impressive honesty and sincerity, thoroughly discussing everything from Mexican poverty to the local folklore to create what several reviewers have praised as a well-rounded and enjoyable book.

Hanut told CA: "It's when I write that I feel the most alive. As Cezanne once said 'No matter what you are painting, flowers, landscape, etc., it's always a self-portrait.' The same can be said about books."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Kirkus Reviews, September 1, 2001, review of The Road to Guadalupe: A Modern Pilgrimage to the Goddess of the Americas, p. 280.

Library Journal, November 1, 1998, Eugene O. Bowser, review of Son of Man: The Mystical Path to Christ, p. 90; October 1, 2001, Stephen Joseph, review of The Road to Guadalupe, p. 105.

Publishers Weekly, September 10, 2001, review of The Road to Guadalupe, p. 89.