Barry Lopez Speaks at the Sowell Conference at Texas Tech

Barry Lopez

By Joey Chavez

The first time I became aware of the author by the name of Barry Lopez, I had no idea what to expect. I took a Literature in the Natural World course during the Spring of 2016 and his book Resistance was on the list of readings required for the class. By the time we got around to reading this book, I could not get enough of Lopez’ short stories. One of the prime objectives for this class was to produce a paper and presentation for the Sowell Conference in Lubbock, Texas. The Sowell Conference is held annually as a gathering of students, professors, authors, artists, architects, and lovers of nature. Although Barry Lopez was the central figure at the conference, many other noted authors read, such as the lepidopterist Robert Pyle and the author of The River Why, and David James Duncan. They all had such open minds about every presentation. There is no easy way to explain the way I felt that semester, because of how subtle this calling was. Deep down inside, I wanted to prove myself to Barry Lopez to let him know that could have insights just the way he did in his short stories.

When Lopez began his speech, the entire room fell silent to his soothing voice, calm energy, and overwhelming insight about nature and life. I sat right in front of Lopez while he presented, and for once in my life, I never lost focus. What continues to amaze me is at the beginning of his presentation, Lopez said, “I didn’t prepare anything for today,” and yet, his speech was one of the best I have ever heard in my life. When he speaks, Lopez inspires and reveals insights at the same time. I will never forget that weekend, and now, I am a huge fan of all of his books.

Lopez observed that the council of elders, the typical form of government for native communities, is the only system that has proven itself and “can save us.” We are here today, “because the elders have made decisions that are consistently good.” He focused on what it means to serve others, and described his work for Mercy Corps in Palestine, Lebanon, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan helping to facilitate communication. The poor in these places show the “incredible resilience of the human heart and mind.” His goal is to spread compassion. He said he learned empathy from watching tumbler pigeons, who explode all at once from one tree, then plummet in unison at 40 mph almost to the ground, ascending again together all at the same instant. The arts, he said, are the means of teaching compassion. They are the only means of “decolonizing ourselves” from “capitalism—which kills people.” As a writer, he said, “It’s not about you; it’s really about us. I am a project of my people. The writer’s task is to bring others to life or bring ourselves to life.” One must go to a place which is in some way unfamiliar—where you don’t know everything.  “Get yourself to a state where you feel vulnerability. To know or be known, you have to be vulnerable. And to be vulnerable, you must trust.”

Joey Chavez is a student at Sull Ross University.

Image credit: David Littschwager