July 21, 2008
Horsepower 47: Deanne Stillman, Mustang: the saga of the wild horse in the American west
Wild horse issues in Nevada continue to hit the national news stream, months after a media blow up which caught the attention of Willie Nelson and Snoop Dog. In this Episode of Horse Power we talk with Deanne Stillman, author of the LA Times Best Seller: Twentynine Palms: a true story of murder marines and the Mojave, about her new book Mustang: the saga of the wild horse in the American west. Her work has appeared in Rolling Stone, Slate, Salon, Orion; The New York Times, LA Times, Tin House ( a great fiction ‘zine ), and others.
10,000 years ago horses were native to North America. Those horses migrated to Europe and Asia as humans did across the Bering straights. Horses were were eventually re-introduced to North America by the Conquistadors, as humans began the process of re-introducing themselves. Stillman’s book begins with the idea that since horses were once native in North America they essentially came home to re-populate their old stomping grounds: a familiar and welcoming environment.
Stillman’s writing is at once poetic and logical with a strong narrative voice. The book is filled with vivid views of the past through the eyes of the ancestors of the Wild Horses that now roam the west.
“Perhaps the ones that were passed over when the men went below the decks to make their grisly selection sensed—in the way that all animals have a homing instinct, and generation after generation make their way back to their ancestral turf—that they would soon be home, back on the continent that had spawned them, thirteen thousand years after they had dispersed and mysteriously disappeared from their birthplace.”
It was great to meet Deanne and get a chance to sit down to talk with her at her book signing at Sundance Books in Reno.
-M
Posted in Horse Power Podcast, Podcast, Reno-Tahoe, Social, Uncategorized
July 21st, 2008 at 5:10 pm
Fantastic Blog!.
I am a podcaster also.
and a horseman.
Looking forward to more.
July 28th, 2008 at 8:46 am
Really cool post. I’ll keep checking in and would like to link you on our blog for my readers.
Horse Stalls Custom Built and Delivered Nationwide by Triple B Stalls.
July 28th, 2008 at 5:30 pm
Of course, I work with Twelve Horses, but I still think it is pretty cool that a writer, biker, tech geek is sitting down with a wild horse advocate and author to record a podcast. Proof that two worlds can collide for a positive discussion. Well done Mike!
July 29th, 2008 at 1:29 am
I’m a painter from Croatia/Europe.
I often paint horses, free, joyful, powerful… and hoping that places like Nevada will have wisdom to preserve their natural habitat.
God bless!
July 30th, 2008 at 6:00 pm
Great pod cast. I’m going to have to do this type of stuff to show people how to take care of horses when they are in horse stalls. Using toys for horses and other techniques it would be so much easier to get my point across to them so their horse is safe.
September 18th, 2008 at 11:08 am
[...] time Mignon! It was great to meet you and interview another New York Times Best Selling Author (NYTBSA). If you’re in Reno, even if you’re not a NYTBSA, come see us; we’d love to chat about [...]
October 13th, 2008 at 3:31 am
hell yea ! you are right