Love America: On the Trail of Writers & Artists in New Mexico

Description

'All my life the idea of America had occupied a space in my psyche. . . . I needed to see it. I needed to find a way to live with it and not despair. I needed to update my idea of America.' For New Zealand writer Jenny Robin Jones the United States has always been an enigma, a series of questionable notions formed through a lifetime. 'What is America?' she asks herself. Can she rely on her own personal impressions? Jones' journey takes her to the spectacular desert lands of Taos and Santa Fe in New Mexico, where she encounters not only the Pueblo people and their rich culture but also the memory of writers and artists such as herself who have made the same journey in the past - D H Lawrence, Willa Cather, Georgia O'Keeffe, Dorothy Brett, Ansel Adams, Dennis Hopper and many others. Where will the dice in this game she calls 'travel roulette' lead her? Superbly written and researched, Love America contains a fine writer's highly personal, richly imaginative insights into a small but fascinating corner of America.

Jenny Robin Jones is a writer of many years' standing. Born in Wellington, where she now lives, Jenny spent her formative years in England, returning to New Zealand as a young adult to begin her working life as a teacher. She was for many years executive director of the New Zealand Society of Authors, served as its representative on the board of Copyright Licensing Limited (CLL) and was a long-term chair of the selection panel for the CLL awards. She also chaired Peppercorn Press, publisher of the quarterly review journal New Zealand Books. Love America is her fourth book.

Jenny Robin Jones turns her sharp perceptive eye to the dramatic landscapes of New Mexico and the writers, artists, designers and photographers who found inspiration there. Travelling with a companion known only as 'the old man', she sets out on the trail of Cather, Lawrence, Adams, O'Keeffe, Waters and the men and women who were their lovers, friends, enemies, hostesses, patrons and supporters. Written with energy and directness, Love America blends the curiosities, frustrations and pleasures of travel with literary pilgrimage, social history, artistic critique and the sheer delight of discovery. Above all, Jones' book is a touching testimony to the joy of a journey in the company of a good friend. - Fiona Farrell