Stony Mesa Sagas - Paperback

by Chip Ward (Author)

"Chip Ward is his own particular phenomenon, the funniest thing to happen to Utah, and one of the most acute environmental thinkers of our time."

--REBECCA SOLNIT

Pursued by a hired killer after they protested at a mining site gate, Luna Waxwing and Hip Hop Hopi seek refuge in the remote Southwest village of Stony Mesa where they start over as micro-farming restaurateurs with a dangerous secret. With their rodeo princess partner Kayla and a colorful cast of unlikely allies, they struggle to find common ground between coyote-killing cowboys and bird-watching retirees. Along the way they explore the nature of the energetic body, how the sins of the past echo into the present, and how to live lightly but joyously on the land. Can Luna and Hoppy keep their secret? Did Mayor Dooley strangle his rich nemesis? Will Bunny Cleaver's patriarchal prophecies come true? And what's the deal with that mystical coyote? Stony Mesa Sagas is a thought provoking and laugh-out-loud romp through the cultural conflicts of today's American West.

Author Biography

CHIP WARD lived in the wilderness for four years before moving to the edge of an environmental sacrifice zone, where he organized and led several campaigns to make polluters accountable. He cofounded HEAL Utah and served on the board of the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance for several years. Starting as a bookmobile librarian, Ward ended his library career as the assistant director of the Salt Lake City Public Library. He is the author of two books, Canaries on the Rim: Living Downwind in the West and Hope's Horizon: Three Visions for Healing the American Land. He writes regularly for Tomdispatch.com. His essay about homelessness, "How the Public Library Became the Heartbreak Hotel," is the inspiration for the movie The Public. As a spokesperson for environmental causes, he has been interviewed by CBS, CNN, NPR, the BBC, and more.