Excerpts from an interview by Robert Baxter

Headline: A book is born after photographer lets it happen

" Anne Knoll has learned to let some things just happen. The book she holds in her hands is one of them. The Monk and the Goddess ended up as a 70 page book with photographs and story by Knoll, calligraphy by Zhe-Zhou Jiang, and Chinese translation by Jin Ying Wang."

" 'How did we get here?' asks Knoll incredulously. 'I believe in letting art happen rather than making it happen.' The book happened after Knoll invited Jeff Roberts and Joanne Mullin McBride to pose for a photo shoot. She did not allow them to talk during the seven hour shoot.'"

" 'It was amazing to watch the human connection of kindness and compassion that developed between them,' recalls Knoll. 'At the end, I knew it had been a transforming experience for all three of us.' "

" After she developed 350 photos, Knoll felt ' overwhelmed.' From the proofs, a story emerged. ' The words and the photographs became one,' notes Knoll as she began winnowing the photographs that illustrated the text down to 25."

"At that point, Knoll decided to make 50 copies of the book by hand and give them to family and friends. Then she asked Jiang to add some calligraphy to the book. As soon as he saw the photos, he agreed and also suggested the text be translated into Chinese."

" 'Anne's photographs were beautiful and the story was beautiful,' says Jiang. Jiang arranged for the printing through contacts in China. Authorities [in China] vetoed the book because they considered it a religious publication. Knoll decided to publish the book privately."

"That's when her life became complicated. 'I started this process as a photographer,' she recalls. 'But along the way I became the writer of the story and the designer of the book before I turned into a marketer, distributor, advertising director and spokesperson! This book is a miracle. It's a book of discoveries for all of us.' "