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You are here: Home / New Mexico / The Double Cottonwood

The Double Cottonwood

April 21st, 2019 by Sallie Bingham in Women, Writing, New Mexico 2 Comments

Double CottonwoodThe double cottonwood, a block from the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum here in Santa Fe, has suffered some serious pruning since this photo was taken and, now leafless, looks somewhat deformed, with the long upper limbs cropped. I don’t know why the City decided to prune her, but often concern for big heavy limbs that may fall on passersby prompts this kind of butchery.

Never mind. She is still there, her massive roots buckling the concrete sidewalk, as expressive of hope as the crustacean-like naked roof structure of the burned Cathedral of Notre Dame.

“Hope is a thing with feathers,” Emily Dickinson begins one of her well-known poems, and certainly feathers are required to fly into our great uncertainties. The hope lives, I think, in our efforts to form various sorts of community—joining individuals as the two massive trunks of the cottonwood are joined.

I am a member of three groups, the first a book club that has been reading a book a month and discussing it together for many decades (I am the newest member); the secret of its success seems to stem from the commitment of its ten or so women and the fact that our meetings are always (well, almost always) on the first Sunday of the month at six pm at the same place. I would not choose, myself, many of the novels, histories and biographies we read, but that is the point of a book group—to push me in an unlikely direction. Oh, and it helps that one member always provides a home-made dessert.

I find myself involved in three groups to my great pleasure and satisfaction, this after many decades avoiding groups as a waste of time.

I find myself involved in these three groups to my great pleasure and satisfaction, this after many decades avoiding groups as a waste of time.

The second, which brings me to Taos (a drive of over an hour from Santa Fe) nearly every Tuesday evening, hotel room reserved and Pip left the kennel, is made up of a small group of Taos writers. Sometimes there are only two or three of us sitting around the table at SOMOS, the extraordinary literary gathering place that provides well-organized rooms of books and a calendar crowded with readings. My group of writers contains probably the most generous-spirited people I know, able to listen to sometimes crudely crafted firsts drafts of memoirs with a bit of humor and patience and many worthwhile suggestions. It is a gift and a blessing.

My third group, which is less than three years old, has yet to find its form, perhaps because the members, like so many people who are retired and live in Santa Fe, travel frequently and sometimes for months at a time. Our original purpose was to define and discuss the feminine, which seemed to lead nowhere; either we are all believers who have little to add or the topic did not appeal. I don’t know which. Anyway, rather than falling apart, the group turned to a discussion of our dreams, under the guidance of a Jungian therapist. This has led, for me, to a shower of dreams where before there were none, an extraordinary development. In a way, though it doesn’t matter what we discuss because these six or so women are probably the most interesting I’ve ever met. Just talking is rewarding.

And so we go on together, which is the only way to go on. In the face of the disintegration of the old forms—church, family, political groups—what seems to be left is the individual, often a woman, who is, perhaps, developing a set of values and ideals to fill the void.

At least I hope so.

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In Women, Writing, New Mexico writers Georgia O'Keeffe SOMOS

A long and fruitful career as a writer began in 1960 with the publication of Sallie Bingham's novel, After Such Knowledge. This was followed by 15 collections of short stories in addition to novels, memoirs and plays, as well as the 2020 biography The Silver Swan: In Search of Doris Duke.

Her latest book, Taken by the Shawnee, is a work of historical fiction published by Turtle Point Press in June of 2024. Her previous memoir, Little Brother, was published by Sarabande Books in 2022. Her short story, "What I Learned From Fat Annie" won the Thomas Wolfe Fiction Prize in 2023 and the story "How Daddy Lost His Ear," from her forthcoming short story collection How Daddy Lost His Ear and Other Stories (September 23, 2025), received second prize in the 2023 Sean O’Faolain Short Story Competition.

She is an active and involved feminist, working for women’s empowerment, who founded the Kentucky Foundation for Women, which gives grants to Kentucky artists and writers who are feminists, The Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History and Culture at Duke University, and the Women’s Project and Productions in New York City. She lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Sallie's complete biography is available here.

Comments

  1. Carol M. Johnson says

    April 28th, 2019 at 6:30 am

    Been busy this week playing for funerals, and just found your latest inspiring epistle. I needed these words. Our book club of many years has lost its fervor and become dormant, our church is aging and shrinking, and my circle of interesting people definitely needs a boost. Sometimes I attribute all of this to a malaise of too much Trump…….sad but true.
    But, I’m going to hold up you banner of “keep on, keeping on”, and am venturing forth this week with a 29 year old granddaughter who invited me to join her on a inexpensive tour of Europe. She single, an EMT entering a paramedic program, young and enthusiastic about everything. This is a great opportunity to meet a variety of people, share my love of travel in the loveliness of Europe, and bond with one of my grandchildren. Also lift my slightly weary soul.
    Thanks, kindred soul, for reminding me that we are responsible for our own happiness.

    Reply
  2. Pat Clark says

    June 18th, 2019 at 12:06 pm

    Oh the Cottonwoid tree! You may really enjoy a film from Appalshop the Appalachian filmshop in Whitesburg. Tales and Sayings of Florida Sloan. She has made up songs all of her life, one about a cottonwood bird who would return to her each year. She told of hearing angels sing before people passed away. Very fasanating lady whose children left for big cities to live the fast life, but returned for the films making.
    Photo journalism and biographies are such wonderful ways to really begin to comprehend the deeper meanings of life.
    Georgia O Keefe….the huge iris flowers resembling female genitalia as described in a college art history book come to mind.
    Wonderful musings and informative in so many ways, just love that i found this website.

    Reply

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