Ride the Silence

Linda Hussa

"Wisely written, beautifully made. The work goes forth from deep roots to far places. A kind of magic ..."

— Kim Stafford
 

Linda Hussa lives in Surprise Valley, near the small town of Cedarville in northeastern California. She and her husband John, a third-generation rancher in their valley, raise cattle, sheep, horses, and the hay to feed them. Linda was born in eastern Oregon, the daughter of well-known trainers of Arabian horses.

She followed their lead and love of horses, growing up competing in numerous stock-horse and cutting competitions. Her formative years were spent in the Bay Area east of San Francisco, moving to Surprise Valley when she married John. It was there that she learned cowboying, and is proud to be a buckaroo. She is also gentle and softspoken, an artist and a writer. Linda has published short stories, articles, and a book about a modern cattle drive, Diary of a Cow Camp Cook. Her current focus is poetry — her work is in several anthologies, including Graining the Mare: the Poetry of Ranch Women (1994), edited by Teresa Jordan. Linda's first book of poetry, Where the Wind Lives, was published in 1994. Linda has been a featured poet at the Cowboy Poetry Gathering held annually in Elko, Nevada, and in 1994 gave a reading at the Library of Congress with Paul Zarzyski and Sonny Hancock. Linda's poetic voice speaks about the region she lives in and the people whose lives are shaped by this environment. It reflects a strong sense of place, and is presented with a lyrical voice as wide ranging as the vast country which surrounds her.