reading

Beauty

...finding it in the Santa Fe Farmer’s Market

by Joan Brooks Baker

Who doesn’t love beauty? And, who desn’t want to be in its presence as much as possible ? But what is beauty -- really ?

John Kenneth Galbraith said: “There is certainly no absolute standard of beauty. That precisely is what makes its pursuit so interesting.”

The Egg shown below in its box of straw, seen at the booth of Skip and Jeff Lynch at The Santa Fe Farmer’s Market, is beautiful. Its shape is perfect - everything we’ve been told it should be. The color is a heavenly blue pastel. It feels delicate in my hand, yet substantial, worthy of the fine hen that produced it. I look at it, I hold it, I put it next to my cheek and then return it to the others, all of the same pedigree, in their nest of straw. I ponder the origin of this egg: I think the mother must have eaten correctly in a nice yard, free of pesticides, full of lovely delicious crawling things. And I sense that Skip and Jeff must care greatly about their brood. Certainly, the presentation of their brood’s product is carefully thought out - beautiful.

Beauty is a simple yet complex idea. We probably use the word with ease at least ten times a day. We turn the corner and say, ah... look, she, he, the landscape, the vase - it is so beautiful, it’s breath-taking. Breath-taking is often what occurs; in fact, when we first see a sight of beauty, we do have an intake of breath, or specifically we gasp...

The verb to gasp has its origins in the Greek word aisthesis which means at root “taking in and breathing in - a gasp, that primary aesthetic response.” This particular translation goes on to say that the “taking in” means taking to heart, that we become intimate with what we see because the object shows its heart and reveals its soul....

But to gasp is the response to beauty, not the definition.

People I have asked “how do you define beauty”gave answers that included: balance, essence, real, simple - not perfect, it must sing, it must move you. They frowned with thought and continued: nature is beauty, it comes from the Divine, it has life, it gives a feeling of well-being.

All the answers made sense to me. But I particularly liked: it gives a feeling of well-being. Yes, I said to myself, that’s true...when I walk into the Farmer’s Market, I am connected to the community of farmers. I am allowed in on their secrets; they are sharing their work with me and the results are proudly presented - the beauty of their products is for all of us. There is a sense of fulfillment, of celebration and I am drawn in. I feel a generosity, a desire for me to partake of their work’s results. “Here, taste this. I picked these this morning,” or “let me tell you a story about Chili - if it’s very light in color, that means the grower was too lazy and left too many seeds.”

Tables are decorated, displays are thought out - one table’s color, as well as the sellers clothes, is lavender; their product, or course, is the plant lavender. Smells are dizzying. I hear: “Do you know the best way to cook these shishitos ? I will tell you,“ says Matt Romero, with a welcoming grin. “Just throw them in olive oil with plenty of garlic and of course, sea salt. That’s it, best thing you’ve ever tasted.”

It’s true there is no set standard of beauty, and I agree with the Greek concept mentioned; we do become intimate with what we see. The connection to beauty is personal and the result is often a feeling of inspiration, wonder, even of peacefulness.

I am certainly not always in conscious pursuit of beauty. A few Saturdays ago I was in a hurry, having arrrived at the Market a bit late. I only wanted to grab six ears of corn from the over-flowing bounty of the Schwebach truck, then I wished to run to Stan and Rosemary’s for their earthy shallots and garlic. I had to see Inga and David and gasp at the hibiscus with four huge purple flowers. As much as I knew I should get going, I couldn’t help lingering with my friends, Phil and Ruby, and bask in their warm presence. I ate most of Phil’s sauteed sliced potatoes he had out in a bowl for passers-by. Oh, I wish I hadn’t I made that appointment, I don’t have time. But, I wanted to see Victoria and needed to put her garland of marigolds in my hair. Finally, I made my way through the indoor market and, with a quickened step, looked straight ahead so I wouldn’t be diverted. I was almost out the door when I turned for a last look, and I felt it - I felt elated, I was high, my soul was stirred, I had become intimate with the Market; in fact, my heart was activated and it sang.

Beauty. It has magic.

Interview with Barbara Awalt and Paul Rhetts

by Joanne Bodin

Barbe Awalt and Paul Rhetts are two New Mexicans who have made a huge impact on the writing and publishing community. They are founders of the New Mexico Book Co-op, the New Mexico/Arizona Book Awards, LPD/Rio Grande Books, and Nuevo Books. Their publications have received numerous awards with over 150 titles currently in print, making them the largest independent book publisher in New Mexico. They are also instrumental in bringing the first Southwest Book Fiesta to Albuquerque.

1. What brought you to New Mexico?

We came here in 1990 to attend a friend’s wedding. We looked around and liked it and decided to sell our PR company in Maryland and move to Albuquerque to retire. But once we got to New Mexico, people found out what we did and there was a huge need for PR and marketing since there weren’t many PR people at that time. So we managed the ISE (Ideas in Science & Electronics) Tradeshow at the Convention Center in Albuquerque. It was the biggest electronics trade show the Southwest had ever seen to date. Then in 1994 we published our first book in New Mexico. It was called Charlie Carrillo: Tradition and Soul/Tradición y Alma, about artist, Charles Carrillo. We ended up selling over 7,000 copies, which at that time was considered a huge success.

2. How did you come up with the original idea of a Co-op? Most organizations have a vision to accomplish a certain goal. What is yours for the New Mexico Co-op?

The most driving reason was that other than the New Mexico Book Association in Santa Fe, and the Southwest Writers’ group in Albuquerque, there was not really a venue for authors to meet and talk to one another once they had published a book, or were getting ready to publish. Most Albuquerque people didn’t want to drive to Santa Fe to attend NMBA meetings. And we differed from Southwest Writers because we mostly offered information on publishing and marketing whereas SWW’s focus was on the craft of writing. Our vision was simple; give authors an opportunity to share ideas and get stores to carry New Mexico books and sell them. Education and awareness is our primary focus. Even though we are New Mexico based, we also have members outside of New Mexico. Everybody helps each other. Some of our members have published, some haven’t, some are high profile award-winning authors, and some are just starting. Our focus is on helping people who have already written a book by offering information on publicity and marketing. Our meetings are free and open to anyone. We have speakers who talk about topics that deal with the world of book publishing. Even if people come to just listen to some of the horror stories of the publishing industry, the co-op at least is a place to learn what is going on in the world of publishing. When people work together there is more impact than when people try to work individually.

3.Why it is “free” to be a member of the NM Book Co-op?

Because this was a huge undertaking, we didn’t want to deal with money. Everyone is nickel and diming people to death. If there is something to pay for, pay for something that matters- not dues. We envisioned that someone might say, “I do not get XX amount of services for my dues.” So you make of it what you want.

4. Can you talk about your own publishing company, LPD Press/Rio Grande Books and its publishing focus?

We publish 15-20 titles a year. We only publish books about New Mexico. What we don’t do, however is romance novels, sci-fi, poetry, or memoir unless it is historical memoir. Our authors have gotten burned in the past by agents who take their money and do nothing, or by publishers they never can talk to, or by publishers that say the wait time to do a book is years. Our name, LPD Press came from our company name in Maryland, Laser Publishing & Design. We started up that company in New Mexico when we moved here and began publishing books on Hispanic culture. Then we formed an imprint, Rio Grande Books, publishing academic, Native American, Anglo, and some children’s books. We also have another imprint, Nuevo Books, publishing books through the New Mexico Book Co-op. And finally, we have partnered with Sunbelt Media Inc, publishing lifestyle books.

5. LPD Press/Rio Grande Books titles have received quite a few awards, some of which are: the IPPY Awards (Independent Publisher’s Association), the Historical Society of New Mexico Awards, the New Mexico Press Women Awards, the New Mexico Hispanic Preservation League Awards, the Hillerman Mystery Writer’s Conference Joe Leaphorn Award, the New Mexico Book Awards, The Ralph Emerson Twitchell Award, the Lansing Bloom Award, the El Conquistador Award, the Cumbre Award, and the Mother Teresa Award. You have over 150 titles currently in print, making you the largest independent book publisher in New Mexico. Can you name some of the places LPD publications are sold in New Mexico?

We have our books at Bookwork’s, Treasure House Books, Page One, and UNM Bookstore in Albuquerque, all Barns & Noble and Hastings bookstores, and Amazon. Plus, they are at Collected Works and Garcia Street Books in Santa Fe, and the NMSU Bookstore and COAS in Las Cruces. We also sell to lots of specialty or gift stores such as the Museum of New Mexico gift shops, the Balloon Museum gift shop, the National Hispanic Culture Center, and to bookstores around the State and in Arizona and Colorado.

6. How do you see authors adapting to the rapidly changing book industry: i.e. closing of bookstores, chain stores and small independents; the move to e-readers and e-books; print on demand, etc.?

Everything is changing weekly. No one knows what the result will be. We can adapt to some things quickly but book people need to start talking to each other or they will be lost in the dust. But, even an e-book is extremely difficult. There are over 250,000 ISBN’s, or titles published each year. So the author still needs to market their own book.

7. Your most recent project is the 2013 Southwest Book Fiesta which will be held in Albuquerque. Can you address some of the factors that went into your decision and what you hope to see happen in terms of the networking possibilities available at the conference?

We have been floating the idea for years - about 10+. We want the public to see that there are some wonderful New Mexico books. The Book Fiesta provides an opportunity for people to talk with authors and to buy Southwestern books. We want book people to meet and talk with other book people. The landscape for selling books seems to be getting a lot harder, as we have seen in Tucson with the recent ban on certain books. In our own State we had our Governor’s fiasco of purchasing non-New Mexico published books for our public school children.

8. Can you talk about the New Mexico Book Awards- and now, Arizona Book Awards?

The New Mexico Book Awards were started almost 7 years ago because NM didn’t have a comprehensive book awards program. There were awards programs for kids books, or awards programs in New Mexico for books outside of New Mexico; and New Mexico Press Women had a few categories every year. Arizona, Colorado, and Texas all had book awards, but not New Mexico. We started the program to highlight the best of New Mexico books. We offered quite a few categories so authors could find one for their type of writing. Last year we included Arizona because their publishers’ group folded, their awards program died with it, and it was their Centennial year. We had a massive response, and for the first time we had entries in all categories, with he highest number of entries, finalists, and winners ever! Each year we have added a category or categories because, either authors request it, or we want to clarify the categories. This year we added three bilingual categories and last year we added the cover design and Spanish-language categories. We also honor some major players with the Friends of New Mexico Books and Friends of New Mexico Authors’ Awards. We provide stickers for winners and finalists which can be a help in publicity, selling, and marketing of their books. We realized how important it was to have an open and fair contest so we had at least three judges for each category, which included 70 judges from not only New Mexico but from other states as well. It is a lot of work, but the Book Awards have become the main award event for New Mexico ( and now Arizona) authors. Many of the winners have stated that the award they received helped them in their writing careers. We also want to keep the price down to enter our awards contest. Some awards programs are up to $150. All books entered each year are donated to libraries and literacy programs.

9. Can you talk about your support of the local Hispanic culture in the State?

We started publishing in New Mexico about 20 years ago. We realized nobody was publishing books on Spanish culture so we decided to publish a book about a contemporary Hispanic New Mexico santero, Charles Carrillo. The book’s title was Tradition and Soul/Tradición y Alma. As we mentioned at the beginning of this interview, we did extremely well, selling over 7,000 copies. Then we published other books on Hispanic culture and on New Mexico history. We started a magazine 17 years ago, Tradición Revista, which is still going strong today. It started as a print magazine and is now available as an electronic publication.

A few weeks after I interviewed Paul and Barbe, I attended the Women Writing the West Conference in Albuquerque where they were featured on a panel, along with other New Mexico publicists. I was particularly struck by their response to one question that related to the changing role of the publishing industry and how electronic book venues have taken hold. They referred to the recent closing of the Otowi Station bookstore in Los Alamos. It was just another example of how local bookstores couldn’t keep up with the demands of electronic publishing. They said that by the years 2015-2016, all K-12 curriculum will be electronic in the State of New Mexico, and by 2020 in California. I realized I was living in a time when a paradigm shift as huge as the invention of the printing press, the light bulb, the Ford motorcar, or the airplane, was happening before our very eyes. The entire world of written expression was moving toward various platforms of electronic media: Kindle, Nook, E-book, I-pad, I-phone E-readers, and who knows what else will come. For those of you who long for that hard-cover or paperback book, remember how we felt when tapes, DVD’s, CD’s and I-pods replaced vinyl records? At least we could still hold a CD or a DVD in our hand. But now, everything happens in cyberspace, in the ethers, in the I-cloud. There is even a new language developing around the new technology. I leave you with a quote from the Internet.

“Project Gutenberg is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, to ‘encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks’. It was founded in 1971 by Michael S. Hart and is the oldest digital library.”