“THERE’S NO THROUGH TRAIL” —HAN-SHAN, TRANSLATED BY GARY SNYDER
/ South African Night Sky

South African Night Sky

by Ben von Jagow

Issue: Spring/Summer 2021

Milky Way From the Northern Cape

Moon Over Cape Town 3

Artist’s Statement

The following two photographs were both taken beneath the South African Summer sky but under very different circumstances. Moon Over Cape Town 3 was shot on the city’s outskirts during the full moon. Between the light pollution coming from Cape Town and the full moon, hardly a single star was visible the night of the photograph. Milky Way From the Northern Cape was taken beneath the darkest of skies. I waited until the new moon and then traveled to Sutherland, a small town in the Northern Cape where there are few artificial lights to distract the eyes from all the beauty above.

Ben von Jagow

About Ben von Jagow

Ben von Jagow is a writer/poet/photographer from Canada living in Cape Town. His work has been featured in literary journals such as Amsterdam Quarterly, The Stockholm Review of Literature, Marathon Literary Review, F(r)iction, Gordon Square Review, and the Literary Review of Canada, among others. For more of Ben’s work, visit benvj.com.

Cold Mountain Review is published once a year in the Department of English at Appalachian State University. Support from Appalachian’s Office of Academic Affairs and College of Arts and Sciences enables CMR’s learning and publications program. The views and opinions expressed in CMR do not necessarily reflect those of university trustees, administration, faculty, students, or staff.
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