I always looked for whet I wanted in all the wrong places until the desert taught me to want what I found... It is so easy to be happy I am what has become of me a man who lives in the desert ...Men are coming inland to the desert soon they will make it the last resort for tourists who have nowhere else to go what will become of the coyote with eyes of topaz moving silently to his undoing the ocotillo flagellant of the wind the deer climbing with dignity further into the mountains the hige and delicate saguaro... I have learned to accept whatever men give me but oh my desert yours is the only death I can not bear, From “Requiem for Sonora" & "Whatever became of Me” |
by Richard Shelton
I started on this page to list and comment briefly on some of the classic books about the desert but I chose to become enthusiastic about Richard Shelton, Associate Professor of English at the University of Arizona and author of three of my favorite books of poetry; The Tattooed Desert, Of All the Dirty Words, & You Can’t Have Everything. They are available from the University of Pittsburgh Press.
In another vein, and equally as talented a writer, is Tony Hillerman. Tony is on the staff of the University of New Mexico and his writing delights both the mystery fan and the desert lover. His hero is Sgt. Joe Leaphorn, a Navajo detective working out of Window Rock Arizona. His books, The Blessing Way, in paper, Dance Hall of the Dead, & Listening Woman decribe the Navajo & Zuni way of 1ife.