Songs of the Fluteplayer: Seasons of Life in the Southwest

By: Sharman Apt Russell

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Synopsis: Filled with &“honest&” writing and &“wise&” observations, &“Russell&’s well-written essays describe her life as an urban immigrant to the rural Southwest&” (Library Journal). In 1981, newlywed Sharman Apt Russell moved with her husband to an agricultural valley in southwestern New Mexico, hoping to create a simpler life. From building their adobe house to the home-birth of their firstborn to growing their own food and navigating the seasonal flooding of the Mimbres River, these luminous essays chart Sharman&’s journey toward self-sufficiency in a land as mythical and remote as the image of the prehistoric fluteplayer found on the pottery in trading posts throughout the Southwest. Replete with wisdom and a reverence for the Native American people whose relics Sharman discovers everywhere on the land around her, this award-winning memoir pays tribute to the power and grace of nature, our deep connection to our prehistoric past, and the beauty of living in communion with the land. &“A fine contribution to the literature of the modern American Southwest . . . [Russell] achieves just the right mix of fact and metaphor, humor and poetics.&” —Booklist &“These essays say much about the difficulty of maintaining an alternate lifestyle.&” —Publishers Weekly &“A lovely little book. To be kept and read and read again.&” —Tony Hillerman, bestselling author