If Thrumming gave best self-published book awards (and maybe we should!), a top contender would be The Eye of Fiber: An Uncommon Story from Around the World. Linda Cortright has been traveling the globe for decades with her trusty Nikon and a rare ability to locate rare animals. She has publishing the results of her peregrinations in Wild Fibers magazine since 2004. Musk oxen, cashmere goats, rare sheep, alpacas, vicuñas, hairy bats—well, maybe not bats, but why not? Linda finds the beasts, and she also finds the humans who care for them. It makes for some inspiring narrative.
One of my favorite stories, not published in the book, is from when she was in New Zealand and heard of a Merino sheep that had gone feral and avoided being sheared for several years. The sheep was so fleecy it couldn’t walk, much less come down the mountain it had fled to. So Linda, of course, organized a rescue lift with a helicopter. For the sheep. It was hair-raising (oops).
Her new book, a first but maybe not the last, is 112 glossy oversized pages of animal portraits, people portraits, remote landscapes, and stories that will make you laugh or cry, depending. You can turn through it and find yourself in Mongolia, Oman, Russia, Romania, Namibia, or just Idaho. Though not the Idaho you are likely to have seen.
In a time when we might be feeling a little stir-crazy, missing travel or even the ability to travel, there’s nothing like a book such as this one to satisfy that travel itch. It’s only available from the author:
Want the book? (you know you do) Order Online or send a check for $27.95 plus $8.95 for shipping to Wild Fibers, PO Box 1752, Rockland, ME 04841. International customers, please contact Wildfibers for a quote.
– Linda
