the spirit's own time

A busy time of snow, deadlines, knitting, minor stresses and not much of interest to share - hence the long time between posts. A few days ago we had 8" of snow "down" here and a foot or more up in the Ski Valley (8 miles away) which will open on Thanksgiving Day (you can hear the cheers ring out across the valley).

The snow mostly melted away over the next few days, but today it threatens to start all over again. Sigh! Why do I live here? I've never been a fan of snow. I guess it's for other perks. Awesome landscape, three distinct cultures, and an active community of artists, writers, and every other type of creative endeavor known to humankind such as....

the big read
an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest "designed to restore reading to the center of American culture." It started in 2004 to address the "critical decline in reading for pleasure among American adults." It's purpose is to bring communities together to read, discuss and celebrate books and writers. Here in Taos, thanks to the work of a few dedicated people, SOMOS received a grant to bring in The Big Read. This year's books are Louise Erdrich's Love Medicine and Sherman Alexie's The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. Early this month the books were distributed free to anyone who wanted to participate. And since it's a month long event, people are still hopping aboard. Last night we had the pleasure of listening to keynote speaker, award-winning Joy Harjo.
     When I first visited Taos in the late 1980s I was greatly influenced by a poetry reading and workshop she gave. Since then she has become internationally known. Her work has evolved into a blend of poetry, saxophone, flute, and song. I wanted to photograph her onstage, but it felt intrusive to do so during her performance (why I'll never be a photojournalist or paparazza).
      Prior to her appearance, the impressive Taos High School Poetry Team performed. The topics they covered were gritty and edgy (no hearts and flowers) and each young poet had a strong stage presence. All in all it was a thoroughly satisfying evening and I'm glad I went even though every cell in my body wanted to settle into the early darkness to knit and watch an old movie. And speaking of knitting (did you think I wouldn't?) a few ufo's are littering my landscape today.

I'm a bit behind in my production schedule but trying not to get obsessive about it. No guilt (well, maybe just a tad). I already have enough for the show which, if I actually sold out, would pay for a ticket to Paris. But, alas, that's not likely and it is necessary to have more than enough for would-be buyers.

The spirit has its own time. Everyone's different.
Without poetry, without song, without dance, 
I would not be alive. Nor would any of us."
          Joy Harjo