Unplugged Voices
125 illustrated verbal histories each a 5-minute read
Connecting to the West
Connection to 125 unique western personas, each in a five-minute read. Stories abound everywhere; but the threads of nature in and of The West, its independence, resilience, creativity, and beauty, weave together in unique revelation of life and land. Sara Frances, author of Fragments of Spirit, her own photographic retrospective and memoir spanning 60 years in the Southwest, has collected and edited 125 personal narratives, told as if the taleteller were sitting in front of you, across the kitchen table, around the campfire, on the front porch, or under the stars.
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My long-time love of the West and it’s quirky, independent people and lifestyle gave me the inspiration and presence of mind to record these amazing tales because exact words spoken will evaporate, leaving only a sensation both of delight at having heard something extraordinary, and also distress at having lost substance through the fragility of memory. You will yearn to read these stories again. Some storytellers are famous, others unknown experts and inquiring travelers, sharing their intuition and adventures, frivolity and sorrow, dreams and visions, arts and inspiration, traditions and family, suspenseful experiences, lifestyles, and community living. A must-read collection with a plot line that eventually reveals if chocolate is a sin. And how did a house become a storybook in itself? Individual gesture and voice are heard clearly in the words and illustrations.
Diversity of the Four Corners and the West is authenticated by the range of these curated narratives and their storytellers. Artists of course, and people of letters—but also survivors, historians, seers, teachers, entrepreneurs, musicians, scientists, and advocates. Each chronicle is told by someone whose senses, emotions, and spirit were deeply moved, often over years of involvement, and who generously sought to record and share their journeys and anecdotes. These are formidable custodians of memory and adventure, significant observers that enlighten, illuminate, and animate the Western heritage that matters.
Rush hour on the High Road to Taos. Photograph © Sara Frances.
