2001, 142 pages
1-891033-19-0, paper, $15.00

 

"It's hard to say if Planet Earth, right now, needs another book of cowboy poetry. It's easy to say, however, that what she does need are wise, honest writings celebrating the sanctity and stewardship of undeveloped landscapes, especially when these writings emanate from someone so embraced, for so long, by all directions, in the center of such open country, that when we read, it is as though the land Herself is speaking to us. Blood Sister, I Am To These Fields assures us that blood is not necessarily thicker than water, that the earth is, in fact, our own flesh and blood. Linda Hussa, like Julia "Butterfly" Hill, writes from a high vantage point-the cowboy west is her Luna."

Paul Zarzyski
 

"It is the woman in the hay meadow, the neighbor's farm dying in the irrigation ditch, the desert's unwritten elegy that roots this book to the long tradition of letters in the West. These poems sift and rattle and seethe but never lose sight of the human coil at their center. Linda Hussa believes there is yet space left for the rueful cowgirl. Bless her for stinging the page with authenticity."

Shaun Griffin

Blood Sister, I Am To These Fields

Linda Hussa

Linda Hussa's newest book contains both new work and poems published in three previous books. The book is her third collection of poetry, work that reflects the high desert of the Great Basin, and goes deep into the lives of those who live on that landscape. It is a life she knows first hand-her husband, John, is a third generation rancher on the ranch in northeast California, established in 1911 by his grandfather. Linda's writing celebrates the tradition and heritage of the high desert ranch life in concert with the landscape that welcomed her when she and John married 30 years ago. Linda's poetry speaks about the region she live 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.

The Author

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 three books of poetry, short stories, articles, and essays. Her most recent book, Lige Langston: Sweet Iron, is a lyrical biography of a Nevada buckaroo. Linda is the winner of the 1999 Nevada Writer's Hall of Fame's Silver Pen Award and she has been a featured poet at the Cowboy Poetry Gathering held annually in Elko, Nevada, In 1994 she 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.