DRY CRIK Journal

BREATHING, IN DUST. By Tim Z. Hernandez. (Texas Tech University Press, 2903 4th Street, Suite 201, Lubbock, TX 79409) http://www.ttup.ttu.edu/ 192 pp. Cloth $26.95

A generation between the author and I, Tim Z. Hernandez’s slice of time during BREATHING, IN DUST is quite different in this place where we both grew up, and in three decades Mexican-American families have displaced the remnants of the Dust Bowl Okies in the fields of the San Joaquin Valley, the kids of whom I went to school with and whose fathers were heroic examples of ingenuity and hard work, storytellers with a coarse and basic humor in the vineyards and orchards of my grandfather when I was a boy.

But growing up in the fictional town of Catela (an alias for Cutler, California, named for my maternal great great-grandfather), Tlaloc manages to dodge the bullets of poverty, drugs and gangs, taking risks with ample introspection and serendipity, yet choosing his own path towards manhood. Hernandez develops unforgettable characters with heart, with a pathos that permeates this timely and exciting odyssey. This is not a read for the squeamish or easily offended, nor are his explicit descriptions inserted for shock value – ‘it is what it is’ – his each vignette is an original and artful perspective full of both hope and despair, a deep vulnerability that enriches humanity and connects us all.

         There is a bullet hole in my fence that stares at me every time
         I walk up the driveway. A hole, where every year around Thanksgiving
         a family gathers and brings flowers and candles and sits around and talks
         until the pigeons fade into darkness. I’m left to watch these flowers dry up
         and flake off. Left to dream about that hole, time and again. Sometimes
         I fall into the hole and can’t get my footing. Other times, my right eye is
         the hole looking out over the front yard, and my body is the fence post, and I
         feel as if I’ve seen more than I care to.

It’s easy to ignore Catela, to ignore what the other Valley farm towns like Cutler have become, to avoid a part of what our big cities have become as well, and leave it all on the morning news. But within their tragic squalor and drug-infested gang wars, within their core are the innocent whose only shortcoming is that they are poor.

On my California bookshelf, I’d have to place BREATHING, IN DUST alongside Didion’s WHERE I WAS FROM, Arax and Wartzman’s KING OF CALIFORNIA and Steinbeck’s GRAPES OF WRATH. This is a courageous book that has no ending, really – a spellbinding story of one man’s reach for something more.

- JCD

Posted by John Dofflemyer at 5:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

In early April we received a copy signed by Wally before our Oklahoma trip and packed his collection of short stories with us to read. I was tickled to be included on his list, even though neither Robbin nor I had time to crack its covers while we were gone. I wanted to write Wally to thank him, but because I hadn’t read a sentence, it would have been a very empty ‘thank-you’ despite any promises to get back to him when I got around to his book. I know him well enough to know he would have wanted, and expected, more.

Upon our return nearly two weeks later, the Post Office had two bushels of accumulated mail, within which was another signed copy of “Stick Horses”. Though doubly blessed, I felt twice the guilt for not responding. Our following six weeks were spent weaning calves.

We left for the coast last Sunday with two copies of “Stick Horses”, two typewritten manuscripts and a copy of “Close Range” by Annie Proulx among several other books we had earmarked to read. Heyday Press is publishing the delightful children’s book, “Blue Jay Girl” by Sylvia Ross, a myth-like story of a Yokuts girl learning to live with her bold nature. Once an illustrator for Disney, Sylvia’s artwork is also quite vivid and unique. Perhaps what struck me most was that this story is magically universal, a Native American allegory, for all kids and all times.

Robbin was midway through the second manuscript “Rightful Place” by Amy Auker, so I grabbed-up Annie Proulx while she finished. Though Proulx reads to me as more of an observer than a native of Wyoming, she’s a very powerful and talented writer. Though I don’t pretend to know Wyoming, one or two of her short stories seemed a bit postured, a bit too condensed in the minimalist sense, but overall, riveting community cameos on an unforgiving landscape. And after reading the last short story of the collection, I concluded that the over-heralded movie version of “Brokeback Mountain” missed much of the art of the original text.

However unlike Proulx, Amy Auker reads from the ground up. Her love for the land and culture of Texas ranch families is rich with detail that only a native can reveal and share openly. Let’s hope it’s available soon.

By the time I got to Wally's marble sorting with cousin Carol in “All the World’s a Stage”, as surf pounded the gray California coastline, I realized that we, all of us ranch families, actually have a culture full of contemporary writers – not a few cowboys reciting someone else’s poetry – quite remarkable, if you’d been there twenty-some odd years ago at Elko. Pride, perhaps, is what I feel most reading these short stories. I’m proud for Wally’s work and storytelling accomplishment, proud of his hardscrabble Montana family and community, and though his are uniquely entertaining and insightful, I’m also proud of my own neck of the woods. Storytelling is a lost art for many obvious reasons, but these valuable antidotes tell who we are by where we’ve come from. These tales are full of common sense and a once common rural ethic that has been lost to most all of us with progress. And though this collection may be a window to understanding for outsiders, a glimpse of our culture, these stories are really written for us. Not unlike his poetry, his line is precise and firm, but with the art that only great storytellers possess.

Thank you, Wally.

Get this one, now:
$19.99 cloth. 168 pp. Gibbs Smith Publishers, P.O. Box 667, Layton, UT 84041
www.gibbs-smith.com

Posted by John Dofflemyer at 6:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Of all the horse videos out there, I can think of no other that offers as large a scope or so much practical information ‘to help you help your horse’. In this matter-of-fact, two and a half hour presentation, Joe offers both technique and reason around horses, from catching and bridling to tack and equipment that will help almost anyone become a better and more knowledgeable rider. Distilled from a lifetime with livestock, Joe presents more solid horse sense than the average equestrian can absorb at once, but the DVD menu is quick and easy to navigate for selected replays.

And most pleasantly, “Meet Joe Bruce” is not about self-promotion, but rather compassion for people and horses in basic, understandable terms, each topic separated by his favorite Latin quotes and their translations that I think contribute to the tone of this unique video produced by Emily Kitching of Eclectic Horseman. With Buffy St. Marie lending two songs to the effort, this is a one-of-a-kind video. If you have anything to do with horses, you need to “Meet Joe Bruce” – even the best cowboys will learn something!

Posted by John Dofflemyer at 6:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

What rock have I been under? Wylie’s new CD, “Hang-n-Rattle” is a delicious treat, and perhaps one of the freshest collaborations of poetry and music to rise from the simmering cauldron of cowboy poetry, now 25 at Elko when it will be released. Paul Zarsyski puts his distinctive pen to eight of the fourteen tracks, and the cross-bred heterosis from these two artists makes each track a real thrill. Check it out for yourself: www.wyliewebsite.com/hangnrattle.htm

Posted by John Dofflemyer at 5:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We left Elko with a couple of DVDs that we watched last night for the first time, and though viewed only once, I thought them especially worthy of mention here and for inclusion in Dry Crik Picks. The documentary, Why the Cowboy Sings produced by Hal Cannon and Taki Telonidis in 2002, has not only won a fair number of awards, but has established a lofty threshold for all future productions within the cowboy culture. Preceded only by the Steiger Brother�s hour-long documentary, Ranch Album, incredible footage of cattle ranching in Northern Arizona released nationally as a PBS Special, the availability of new digital tools make video as a medium of expression more accessible to all.

TAPADERO. J & S Productions [(805) 695-0164. www.tapadero.com - 2006.]
DVD $16.

Susan Jennings and Paul Singer brought their information-packed, 82 minute documentary, Tapadero, to screen at the Gathering this year. Backgrounded with amazing facts and interesting historical accounts of the arrival of the horse to North America and the Spanish Mission and Land Grant systems in California wherein the Vaquero was born, the filmmakers revisit many of these old ranches where the tradition has been revitalized by a younger generation of cowboys like Jeff McKee and Will Barnhart of the Santa Marguerita and Reagan Ranches respectively. [Because both young men have brought their long ropes to our brandings over the years, I know their dedication to horsemanship and the early California traditions that define their whole beings, adding special credence to this documentary.] The leap in time would be impossible without a visit to the Dorrance Ranch and the remembered perspectives of Bill and Tom towards understanding horses and life. Music from Ian Tyson, Mike Beck, Dave Stamey and Christina Ortega bring the coastal landscape alive. This is a keeper � one we all can learn something from.

DEEP WEST VIDEOS 2006. By Various Artists. Executive Producer: Taki Telonidis (Deep West Records, Western Folklife Center, 501 Railroad, Elko, NV 89801. 2006. www.westernfolklife.org) DVD $20.

This must-have disc includes nine short collages of mostly still photos with narrative or music backgrounds varying in length from a minute and a half to nearly eight minutes that offer rare insights into the rural West, most all centering on some aspect of the cattle culture. Beginning with two well-edited selections by photographer Linda Dufurrena and writer Carolyn Dufurrena, this experiment, offering predominantly feminine perspectives, blows open the range of art and communicative possibilities heretofore limited to relatively expensive printed publications of photos accompanied by poetry or prose. Each selection is unique and moves the viewer in different and remarkable ways. Linda Hussa�s �Mothering in the West� is especially stark and powerful with Madeline Blake�s photographs and contrasts quite well with Susan Church�s clever, video self-portrait, �Winter Feeding Workout.� Merrily Wright�s �Through a Child�s Eyes� is destined for my daughter�s pre-school classroom as is Cheryl Turner�s �The Annual Christmas Program.� Not to be outdone by wife Susan, Peter Church�s �The Quilt: A Portrait of the Ranch Community� takes in the larger ground of the contemporary West. �Boot Camp� a seven minute video by Kristin Windbigler is a humorous hoot, introducing us to the character of bootmaker Jack Brown. And though Teresa Jordan�s �The Bird Men of Kyrgyzstan� may stray beyond this continent, it offers some amazing photographs and information just not available in the main stream media � a precursor, I suspect, of more to come from the far-reaching sojourns of the Western Folklife Center.

Though each selection may be �home-made,� they�re more like desserts for a discretionary palate. Encased in a brown cardboard envelope, the package feels durable, practical and lasting, but for aging eyes, the print in the DVD menu and on the package needs to be larger.

A far cry from the myth established in Hollywood, I can feel the earth move, for these are but the beginning of how we�ll tell our stories in the future.

Posted by John Dofflemyer at 8:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Considered for review IF Dry Crik Review publishes another issue:

FIVE DOLLAR BILL. By Corb Lund (Corb Lund Music, 2002. www.corblundband.com)
CD $20.

HAIR IN MY EYES LIKE A HIGHLAND STEER. By Corb Lund (Stony Plain Recording Co. Ltd., 2005. www.stonyplainsrecords.com) CD $20.

HOTWALKER. By Tom Russell (Hightone Records, 2005. 220 4th St. #101 Oakland, CA 94607 www.hightone.com) CD $16.

ELKO! A COWBOY'S GATHERING. Various Artists (Western Jubilee Recording Co. LLC., 2005. P.O. Box 9187, Colorado Springs, CO 80932 www.dualtone.com) 2 CDs $22.

MARIPOSA WIND. By Mike Beck (Reata Records, P.O. Box 242, Lavina, MT 59046 www.mikebeck.com)
CD $16.

ALASKA FISHIN' TUNES. By John van Amerongen [(206) 567-4575] CD $15

6th FISHER POETS' GATHERING 2003. By Various Artists [(206) 567-4575] CD $15?

STORIES FROM NATIVE AMERICA. Produced by Taki Telonidis and Hal Cannon with Commentary by Hank Real Bird (Deep West Recordings, 2004. Western Folklife Center, 501 Railroad, Elko, NV 89801 www.westernfolklife.org) CD $15.

Posted by John Dofflemyer at 9:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Considered for review IF Dry Crik Review publishes another issue:

VOICE OF THE BORDERLANDS. By Drum Hadley (Rio Nuevo Publishers, 2005. Tucson, AZ 2005. www.rionuevo.com) 368 pages. Hardcover $29.95.

12/20/07: Review from Kyhl Lyndgaard, University of Nevada, Reno: Download file

COWBOY ETHICS: What Wall Street Can Learn from the Code of the West. By James P. Owen, Photography by David R. Stoecklein (Stoecklein Publishing & Photography, 2004. P.O. Box 856, Ketchum, ID 83340 www.drsphoto.net) 80 pages. Hardcover $35.

AND THEN I WROTE. By Tom Russell & Sylvia Tyson (Arsenal Pulp Press, 1995. 103-1014 Homer St., Vancouver B.C., Canada V6B 2W9) 242 pages. Soft $16.95.

BLOOD SISTER, I AM TO THESE FIELDS. By Linda Hussa (Black Rock Press, 2001. University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada www.library.unr.edu/blackrock) 140 pages. Soft $14.

WOLFTRACKS ON THE WELCOME MAT. By Paul Zarzyski, 2004. (Carmel Publishing Co., P.O. Box 126, Cedarville, CA 96104 bmarsh@frontiernet.net) 135 pages. Hardbound $20.

GRASS. By Buck Ramsey, edited by Scott Baucher and Bette Ramsey, 2005. (Texas Tech University Press, Box 41037, Lubbock, TX 79409-1037) Hardbound plus CD $35.

LIKE FISH IN THE FREEZER. Edited by Jon Broderick, 2004.(Cannon Beach Arts Association, Cannon Beach, OR. 38 pages. $12.

Posted by John Dofflemyer at 9:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)