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    • Tama Janowitz

    Tama Janowitz lives on a remote mesa in the high desert of southwest New Mexico, where a lot of aliens live. She has authored 12 books: The first one, American Dad, a novel, was published in 1983 and is about to be reissued. She lives on a small ranch thingy, with two horses, three dogs, and a demanding family of (wild) ravens who this year have had three offspring and are in a war with the old horse, so she gets pooped on a lot due to her glaring at them.

    Contributions from Tama Janowitz

    On the Mesa

    Ravens

    By Tama Janowitz

    Apart from Robert, to whom I am apparently married, my only companions on the New Mexican mesa — at 6,500 feet of altitude, forty minutes from town — have been two horses and a pair of ravens. It is already remote, but I also cannot drive. Even if I could drive, vehicles are vengeful and all but … Continue Reading
    On the Mesa

    Snakes on the Mesa

    By Tama Janowitz

    Robert was still back and forth between California and the Mesa. When we first met, some years ago, he liked to watch Hallmark movies. They started with things like a beautiful lost veterinarian whose car broke down and a local farmer took her in and gave her coolant. When he made her pancakes, she … Continue Reading
    On The Mesa

    My Horse Fox

    By Tama Janowitz

    Before Robert and I moved to the Mesa in southwest New Mexico, I lived in upstate New York near the Finger Lakes and the Cargill salt mines. The mines got the salt from under Seneca Lake. When I was there, sometimes men asked me timidly, “Tama, why do all these middle-aged women suddenly start … Continue Reading
    On the Mesa

    Fire on the Mesa

    By Tama Janowitz

    We moved to the Mesa yesterday, Robert and I. Today we noticed a sign had gone up at the fire department, about four miles away. It is the only building directly on the dirt road — the only road — that connects the Mesa to town. Every other place is hidden. The fire department and the tiny water … Continue Reading
    On the Mesa

    The Land With No Vehicle Inspections

    By Tama Janowitz

    It’s quiet out here on the mesa in southwest New Mexico. The longer I am here, the more I realize it is too quiet — for me, anyway. I like to sit on the patio and watch the hummingbirds get into fights at the feeders, squeaking, wings buzzing, as they urinate all over the place. Every time one … Continue Reading
    Dispatch

    A Lone Figure

    By Tama Janowitz

    We were on the Mesa driving home when we saw a lone figure, dressed in black, walking up the road. From town to our house is about 20 miles — five miles over the mountain — on the only road that leads out here.  You pass the Continental Divide Trail on the left, but the road continues. The road is … Continue Reading