John Nichols, author "Milagro Beanfield War," "My Heart Belongs to Nature"

Air Dates: April 29-May 1, 2017

This Week’s Guest : JOHN NICHOLS, Iconic New Mexico Author

QUOTES:

“John Nichols has all of Steinbeck's gifts, the same overwhelming compassion for people, plus an even finer sense of humor,and the need to celebrate the cause and dignity of man …” -- Chicago Tribune

“My message, of course, at this moment in history, is history is always struggle. Ever since I have been in New Mexico I have been in one struggle or another, for water rights, for land rights, for social justice rights, etc. And we depend, for survival - the human race does - on the biology that sustains us.”-- John Nichols

This week's guest on REPORT FROM SANTA FE is iconic New Mexican author John Nichols. Inspired by his naturalist grandfather and ornithologist father, John Nichols became an avid environmental advocate and writer.

Nichols’ novels delve into discussions of race, land, water and history in New Mexico. He has lived in Taos, NM since 1969. Of his 20+ books, he is renowned for "The Milagro Beanfield War," "The Magic Journey," and "The Sterile Cuckoo."

Nichols’ newest book "My Heart Belongs to Nature: A Memoir in Photographs and Prose," includes 40 years of photos, memories, and field notes about the hikes John has taken in the high country near Taos:

“One of the things that is really important to me for this book is every photograph is personal,” said Nichols. “Every photograph is of an area or a place where I’ve spent years and years wandering around it.”

Nichols authored the "New Mexico Trilogy", a series about the complex relationship between history, race and ethnicity, and land and water rights in the fictional Chamisaville County, New Mexico. The trilogy consists of The Milagro Beanfield War (which was adapted into a movie of the same title directed by Robert Redford),The Magic Journey, and The Nirvana Blues.

Quote:"I've always believed if you're involved even in a very small struggle - in some sort of infinity in a grain of sand - in your local neighborhood, that every action has universal implications. I believe that if I struggle for the rights of an acequia in Taos, New Mexico, that the ripple effect [will spread] from that tiny struggle." -- John Nichols