Gregg Valenzuela

Transcendental Desert Meditations Gregg Valenzuela

Travelling New Mexico on the back of a motorcycle, leaves immediate and vivid impressions of the great unspoiled Southwest. This is an area alive with history extending back thousands of years and full of the fresh story of recent change over the last several hundred years. The topography is just as varied with rugged, wind swept desserts, river gorges, snow capped mountains, a huge rift valley, hundreds of volcanos and block fault mountains. The people cling to hallowed traditions that extend back to the Anasazi and Conquistadors who learned to survive in the dessert cultures that were molded by the mandates of survival in an unforgiving land to eventually thrive and leave traditions that are valued and celebrated in every town plaza, reservation and pueblo throughout the state. Experience and impressions accrue along highway miles to provide ample texture and tone for poems that celebrate a modern appreciation for this unique area.