Wednesday, July 3, 2019 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Celebrating deserts, literature in Central Oregon
By Katy Yoder
Correspondent
Waterston Desert Writing
Prize-winner Nathaniel
Brodie of Portland was hon-
ored last week for his writing
on deserts. Yet he still finds
it hard to articulate just what
deserts mean to him.
<The desert means a series
of thing you can9t put into
words. It9s a series of child-
like colors, images, emotions
and smells that well up out of
the wide open sky,= he told
The Nugget. <The sound of a
canyon wren pulls forth feel-
ings and memories. Staring
up at a billion stars while
lying on a warm flat rock&
it9s at the deepest most primal
connection.=
The High Desert Museum
was the venue for the 5th
annual Waterston Desert
Writing Prize, which included
workshops and an awards cer-
emony on June 26. Attendees
enjoyed a reception before
opening remarks by the High
Desert Museum9s Executive
Director Dana Whitelaw.
Waterston Desert Writing
Prize president and founder,
Ellen Waterston, followed
with introductions for a
three-panel presentation she
moderated called <A Desert
Conversation.= Panelists
included scholars Bruce
Berger, Patty Limerick and
Kim Stafford. Waterston
described the forum as an
exchange between three
illustrious authors and schol-
ars, who in their work in
some shape and form address
deserts.
She asked each to first
comment on the role the des-
ert plays in the human narra-
tive or in their writing, and
then to offer a short reading
of their work. The discussion
began with award-winning
author Bruce Berger, best
known for a series of books
exploring the intersections
of nature and culture. His
most recent book, <A Desert
Harvest,= was featured in an
opening video created on the
occasion of the recent launch
of the book in New York. The
video was narrated by Ellen
Waterston9s brother Sam
Waterston.
Berger was followed
by Patty Limerick, the fac-
ulty director and chairman
of the board of the Center
of the American West at
the University of Colorado,
where she is a professor of
history. She is best known
for her work, <The Legacy of
Conquest,= as well as a witty
sense of humor that kept the
audience laughing and listen-
ing to her intriguing desert
descriptions.
Asked before her time on
stage about participating in
the event, Limerick compli-
mented all the writers who
vied for the coveted prize.
<I get to recognize
younger, talented writers and
introduce them. It9s so excel-
lent to be in the company of
the talented young. I get to be
an ancient figure who wrote
about deserts long before
some of these young folks
were born,= she said.
Rounding out the thought-
ful discussions, Oregon9s
Poet Laureate, Kim Stafford,
read a recently written work
inspired by his admiration
for Ellen Waterston and his
love for all things desert. He
described his reading as, <Not
really a poem but more back
and forth between a charm,
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Continued from page 11
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Nathaniel Brodie, 2019 winner of the Waterston Desert Writing Prize,
offered an engaging reading to an audience at the High Desert Museum.
a blessing, a memory and a
message to my late brother.=
Stafford recalled that his
late father, William Stafford,
loved to take road trips from
Portland.
<He9d say, let9s get over
the mountains to the dry
country,= said Stafford.
After the panel, Limerick
did the award presentation
to finalist, Summer Hess and
the winner, Nathaniel Brodie.
Brodie was overwhelmed by
the beauty of the High Desert
Museum and the honor of
meeting Patricia Limerick,
who he considers one of his
heroes. He was also excited
to have his book sitting on
the same table with esteemed
writers like Kim Stafford and
Bruce Berger.
Dana Whitelaw made her
closing remarks, thanking
attendees and Ellen Waterston
for her tireless efforts in the
literary arts.
<The Waterston Desert
Writing Prize is one of
my favorite events to host
because of the partnership
and Ellie9s vision for the
writing prize,= she said at the
conclusion of the evening.
<I love that it uses the liter-
ary arts as a way to explore
deserts differently. It pushes
our definition of deserts. It
could be the Sonoran desert,
the high desert, the deserts
of depression or the moon.
Using the desert as a prompt
for writing allows readers to
think about it differently.=
For more information
about The Waterston Desert
Writing Prize visit https://
www.waterstondesertwriting-
prize.org.
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