Maggie Duval: “I’m writing a lot about sense of place – like everywhere I’ve lived, and I’ve been transient all my life, because of my Dad, his work, but also my own moving around. But I’ve lived everywhere from a town of thirty to Austin, which is like a bazillion now, or whatever. And then the Bay Area, too, and everywhere in between. But everywhere I’ve lived, I’ve made it a point to learn everything I possibly could about the geology – like, what made this place? And then, who’s lived here? You know, from indigenous to pioneers or whatever…”
Our foreign correspondent Maggie Duval returns to the Plutopia podcast, updating us on her move from Austin to Taos, New Mexico. We discuss the differences in those two cities, also Covid, the invasion of New Mexico by Texas developers, and much more.
Maggie Duval has spent 30 years at the intersection of arts and technology within the industry as a manager, as a web developer, and as an experience designer. She was a witness to the birth of the Web as we know it today and was involved in the early days of the Burning Man festival as a media manager. Maggie is also a board member for EFF-Austin, the Austin chapter of the nationwide independent non-profit civil liberties organization. A year ago, she moved from Austin, Texas to Taos, New Mexico.
Relevant Links:
La Coalición de Taos’
https://lacoaliciondetaos.com
The New Mexico Trilogy by John Nichols:
Book 1: The Milagro Bean War
Book 2: The Magic Journey
Book 3: The Nirvana Blues
Enchantment and Exploitation: The Life and Hard Times of a New Mexico Mountain Range by William deBuys
The Man Who Killed the Deer by Frank Waters
Maggie: “Frank Waters is a “hero” of mine, a mystic, philosopher, and great writer. The Man Who Killed the Deer is based on a true story. When the NPS stole Taos Pueblo (known know as The People of the Red Willow) land, they took their sacred Blue Lake (Nixon!! returned it 50 years ago), and their hunting lands.”
People of the Valley by Frank Waters
“One of Frank Waters’s most popular novels, People of the Valley takes place high in the Sangre de Cristo mountains where an isolated Spanish-speaking people confront a threatening world of change.”
And if you want to know my family connection (via the Santa Fe Railway and the Indian Detours) – R. Hunter Clarkson – my grandfather’s work in helping to create a tourist mecca Southwestern Disneyland, check out this book by D.H. Thomas: The Southwestern Indian Detours, the Story of the Fred harvey/santa Fe Railway experiment in “detourism”
And this one:
Appetite for America: How Visionary Businessman Fred Harvey Built a Railroad Hospitality Empire That Civilized the Wild West, by Stephen Fried
Relevant videos:
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