Surprisingly, Dave and Ilyssa Kyu, longtime Glenside residents and editors of the \u201cCampfire Books\u201d anthology series, did not grow up camping. A twist of fate, however, sent them into the wilderness, where they remain today (at least in print).\u00a0<\/p>\n
The couple met while working at Whole Foods in North Wales. Dave was a cashier studying sculpture at Tyler School of Art and Ilyssa was a bagger and student at Springfield Township High School (she later studied industrial design at the University of the Arts).\u201cWe like to joke that I liked what he was passing down the aisle,\u201d Ilyssa said.<\/p>\n
While still dating (they have been together for 20 years and married for 13), a planned vacation to Toronto was suddenly derailed by a sanitation workers\u2019 strike. \u201cWe had to come up with a new plan at the last minute,\u201d Ilyssa told the Local. \u201cWe never had gone camping before, so we were woefully unprepared and had several very cold nights, but yet we absolutely fell in love with camping and spending time outdoors. From there, we found ourselves camping any moment we could.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Those experiences lit the spark for a book project, and in 2018, the first \u201cCampfire Stories\u201d volume was published. Ilyssa said \u201cDave suggested we sell our house, buy a van, hit the road and \u2018Live nowhere and everywhere.\u2019 I thought that was a terrible idea, but I loved the idea of traveling \u2026 and it just happened to be the centennial celebration year of the National Park Service. So we decided our first collection of stories would be about the National Parks’ first 100 years, and we went for it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Combining the beauty of the natural world with the tradition of storytelling, the books are part literary collection and part travel guide. They expose the reader to classic tales, original essays, poems, and natural history by writers including Stanley Kunitz, Mary Oliver, and Henry David Thoreau. Each volume explores the beauty and wonder of nature in national parks and other regions of the United States. Every chapter includes an \u201cAbout this Story\u201d reflection, offering insight into how the Glenside couple discovered the tale, why they selected it, and some background about its author.\u00a0<\/p>\n
So far, the series includes five titles \u2014 the two national parks collections and three \u201cTales and Travel Companion\u201d collections \u2014 with three more of the latter on the way this fall. They also publish two sets of activity card decks: one featuring story prompts for adults, and another with words and pictures to help children create their own fireside lore.<\/p>\n
\u201cRecognizing the impact travelers have on destinations,\u201d Dave said, \u201cespecially in the wake of the pandemic, it was important to us that if we were encouraging travel, we also were providing suggestions for \u2018How to travel well,\u2019 so you’re leaving a positive, not harmful, impact on the region.\u201d<\/p>\n
He and Ilyssa also use local sources wherever possible. He explained, \u201cWith room to include even more stories for each region, we needed to get back into the libraries, archives, and bookstores to find stories and identify local writers we wanted to work with. These places often have work from local writers in limited or one-off printings that we’d never find unless we were there, and they’re also often the heartbeat and hub of a community, so we’re able to learn about what’s going on in a region, which ultimately enhances our understanding of the place.\u201d<\/p>\n
The couple will appear Saturday, July 19, 1-4 p.m., at booked, 8511 Germantown Ave., to discuss and sign their three just-released collections of \u201cCampfire Stories,\u201d featuring tales from Cape Cod, Chesapeake Bay, and the Adirondacks.<\/p>\n