Enduring Spirits Through Time and Change

July 27, 2010

One of the many things about Taos that draws a person to the mountain is the spirituality of the people who are likewise drawn to this place. Frank Waters is one of those people for me. Waters was a prolific writer and believer in the interconnectedness of our lives with nature and the world that we cannot see, feel or touch, and yet which we know exists.

I fondly remember lengthy hours of many visits at the Taos Book Store that used to be adjacent to what is now Café Tazza. That bookstore and Moby Dickens were always on my stop every time I was able to come to Taos to spend time in the environment and touch the sky.

I loved being amongst the old books by Willa Cather, D.H. Lawrence, John Nichols and Frank Waters. It was there that my fascination for the glimpse of the world through Waters’ eyes that made me more fully appreciate the absolute splendor of the people, land and life in this high mountain desert.

Like most, I was first introduced to his writings by “Book of the Hopi� and have read my way through a good portion of his 27 books. Many of his novels and non-fiction works are still available in print and are offered in many languages.

A central theme of Waters’ work is Americana at its best. His appreciation and understanding of the Navajo, Hopi, Pueblo, New Mexican, Mexican as well as the pre-Columbian are clearly illustrated in the vast majority of his work. This “Grandfather of Southwestern Literature� was also nominated five times for a Nobel Peace Prize in literature. In “The Man Who Killed the Deer,� Waters said, “Nothing is simple and alone. We are not separate and alone. The breathing mountains, the living stones, each blade of grass, the clouds, the rain, each star, the beasts, the birds and the invisible spirits of the air—we are all one indivisible.�

In his last book, “Of Time and Change,� Waters gives his final word on what many of the players in early Taos society were like in the stark light of his twilight years. It is clear that the energy that breathed form into the many artists and society characters is still present in the Taos of today. Some say it is responsible for the Taos hum. Others will tell you that character flaws become magnified because of the intense energy. But I believe that it is the vibration of all those who stood in this place before us and made extraordinary lives for themselves and enriched others.

In “The Woman at Otowi Crossing,� Waters wrote, “No one consciously creates a myth. It wells up spontaneously within us in the same involuntary processes which shape the mind, the fetus in the womb, the atomic structure of the elements.�

Frank Waters did just that, but I am certain it was mostly unconscious on his part. His character and personality revealed in his writing stood so monumentally straight and tall like Waters himself, as well as his beloved aspen trees.

A self-made man in every respect, Waters was born on July 25, 1902, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He studied engineering without obtaining a degree. Roughly 50 years later, Waters had accumulated seven honorary degrees. His ability to observe and tell a story took him from Washington D.C. to Hollywood, as well as extensive studies in Mexico. Those who knew him believe Waters would have been honored and amused that a unique collection of Waters’ books have been recently purchased by Yale University to be housed in their permanent collection. In 1993, two years before his death, New Mexico’s Governor Bruce King proclaimed June 26 as “Frank Waters Day.�

One year after Water’s death, Barbara, his wife of 16 years, wrote a book about their lives together. In “Celebrating the Coyote,� Barbara shares her accomplishments as a woman, teacher and writer, as well as their life together. In her book as well as in her life, Barbara quite willingly shares glimpses of Waters’ worldview and how he practiced his beliefs throughout his life. Her strongest desire today is to see the legacy that Frank started—and Barbara has continually and intentionally created—carried on into the future.

Early one mid-morning I pulled into the Waters property on El Salto Road. There among the aspens is the rock where part of Frank’s ashes are buried. On another portion of the land, where the horses used to run, is the simple white cross bearing his name and the balance of his ashes. The old adobe house feels like a proper museum where Frank’s books, art and a lifetime of memories reside. The spirit of place, Frank and Barbara are intimately braided into the environment throughout the entire property.

The property has been placed in a conservatorship with the Taos Land Trust and mirrors the foundation’s mission statement to “shelter the creative spirit.� According to Tanya Duncan, “Frank and Barbara were the first conservation easement with Taos Land Trust. The trust monitors the property one time per year and works with the acequia associations to preserve and protect the land.�

The Frank Waters Foundation was started in 1992, three years before Waters’ death. The foundation carries forth his ideas and life’s work and also sponsors residencies at the Waters home in Arroyo Seco, in addition to offering the Frank Waters Southwest Writing Award. A permanently endowed creative writing fellowship in his name was also established at New Mexico State University.

The foundation held a Bioblitz in 2007 where famed biologist Edward Wilson participated. Forty-three species of birds and 53 medicinal plants were among the many living things identified that day. The property is available for nature hikes with prior permission.

The Frank Waters Foundation will be hosting a Medicine Plant Walk on Saturday, August 21, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. with catered lunch. The walk will be led by Rob Hawley of Taos Herb Company. The fee is $20 per person. The group maximum is 20 people. Bring your notebooks, water and suitable, comfortable footwear. Reservations are required. Contact Barbara Waters at 575-776-2356, by email at FWFwaters@gmail.com or Mark Rossi at RossiStudios@earthlink.net.