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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (June 12, 2019)
4 Wednesday, June 12, 2019 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon Nathaniel Brodie wins Waterston Desert Writing By Katy Yoder Correspondent Nathaniel Brodie9s inter- est and research into the deserts of the Southwest has brought to light the exis- tence of large felines more commonly found in tropical jungles. His winning submis- sion to the Waterston Desert Writing Contest tells the story of the Sky Islands, a region often neglected in Western literature. He9s quick to point out that his book, entitled <Borderlands,= is still in the discovery process. But excerpts and ideas from the book were enough to win him the $2,500 cash award and a four-week residency at PLAYA at Summer Lake, Oregon. As he noted in his win- ning submission: <In the past two decades seven jaguars (Panthera onca) have been treed, photographed, or physi- cally captured in Arizona and New Mexico. The presence of large felines more com- monly associated with tropi- cal jungles in the deserts of the Southwest opens one to wonder and curiosity.= His second book will weave together the historical and environmental repercus- sions of past actions by colo- nists, and show the overlap of Native American, early Spanish explorers 500 years ago, American westward expansion and manifest des- tiny. He points out that our history is very recent and is still playing out in contempo- rary American culture. In another excerpt Brodie explained more about the region he9ll cover and the rea- son it intrigues him enough to write a book about the histori- cal and environmental reper- cussions of the <settling= of the United States. <Here, in southern Arizona, where the Mohave, Sonoran, and Chihuahuan deserts meet, jaguars eat black bears and bromeliads festoon maple trees. Here, Native American, European American, and Latin American cultures have HUGE Selection overlapped for 480 years. <The essays within Borderlands will weave together the stories of the Apache Wars, the current migrant crises, rewilding schemes, The Rosemonte Copper Mine, and the threat- ened fragility of endangered species such as jaguar, ocelot, and Sonoran pronghorn. <The Sky Islands region has been relatively neglected in the annals of Western lit- erature. So too has the south- western jaguar; which, unlike the wolf, has little prominence in North Americans9 ideas and conception of wild creatures, wilderness and contemporary human-nature interactions. For these reasons I believe Borderlands can make a new and meaningful contribution to the body of desert litera- ture, and to a greater cultural desert literacy. My plan is to visit this region in the fall of 2019 and the spring of 2020, and interview desert ecolo- gists, wildlife biologists, bor- der patrol agents, tribal mem- bers, historians, and desert jaguar aficionados.= Jaguars were once a resi- dent species in the U.S., but white settlers wiped them out so quickly, they aren9t included in the history of ani- mals that lived there. Brodie will reveal Dene or Apache history which has a differ- ent story to tell, one that goes much farther back. <I was born and raised in Southern California, a very arid place,= Brodie told The Nugget from his Portland home. <I9ve been attracted to desert places and traveled around the world to desert places. I lived in Arizona and worked in the Grand Canyon for a decade. I love their stark, severe beauty. Everything has thorns, spikes, but also luxurious blooms. Water is miraculous in the desert. There aren9t many desert writing prizes out there. It was a natural fit for me.= Brodie9s family moved last year to Portland from Reno, Nevada. His wife got a ten- ure-track job at Portland State University in eco-hydrol- ogy. She grew up in Seattle and loves being back in the Pacific Northwest. <When we drive back over to Central Oregon9s high desert and the firs transition into sagebrush, we both love it. She likes the big loom- ing trees and I like the open spaces,= he said. Receiving the award is a great honor for Brodie. <We writers sometimes aren9t recognized for the work we do that is not a published book. The vast majority of my writing career is toiling away. I9m lucky enough to have one book published.= He9s also excited about the High Desert Museum event on June 26, where he9ll receive his award and get to meet writers he respects and admires. <I9ll get to be with Kim Stafford, Bruce Berger and meet Patricia Limerick. I9ll be in august company and it9s an honor,= he said. Brodie looks forward to meeting Limerick. <Her book, 8Legacy of Conquest,9 is important for me and I quote her in my first book,= he noted. Brodie appreciates her understanding of how the his- tories of oppression still affect us all and that the legacy of conquest is still being borne out today. Ideas for Borderlands have many threads that are still coming together for Brodie. The process is half the battle. <I9m doing the research now. I9m so excited about Why do you have house plants? Were they a gift or a plant left behind? Do you talk to or touch your plants? I help owners of house plants get to know each plant they adopt. Plants need nutrients. Th ey need to be disease- and parasite-free. Plus, they need attention! doing a four-week residency at PLAYA,= he said. <Right now I9m in the information gathering stage, I tend to gather and only use 20 per- cent of what I gather. PLAYA time will be that winnowing down into what the story truly is. Right now I9m still falling down the rabbit holes.= WDWP founder Ellen Waterston is proud to cel- ebrate the fifth anniversary and was impressed with the breadth and quality of the participants. <The caliber of this year9s proposals, from two conti- nents, three countries and 14 states, made the task of select- ing the winner and finalists especially challenging for the Board of Directors& but in the end Nathaniel Brodie9s compelling proposal Borderlands rose to the top. In a generous and eloquent style, Brodie9s proposal invites the reader to look at the literal and metaphorical, social and environmental consequences of what is taking place on the southern border of the United States from the perspective of the endangered jaguar who PHOTO PROVIDED Nathaniel Brodie will accept the Waterston Desert Writing Prize at an event at the High Desert Museum on Wednesday, June 26. no longer enjoys freedom of movement back and forth across political boundaries.= For more information about the Waterston Desert Writing Prize Award cer- emony visit www.highde- s e r t m u s e u m . o rg / e v e n t s / waterston-prize/. To register for one of the writing work- shops before the evening9s events visit: www.high desertmuseum.org/events/ waterston-workshops/. Visit Nathaniel Brodie9s website at: www.nathanielbrodie.com. Happy Father’s Day to all the amazing dads out there! 541-549-4349 260 N. 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