Chapters in this book

1. Front Matter i
2. Contents vii
3. Editor’s Note ix
4. Foreword xi
5. The Sky Knows Itself—Place
6. A Letter to the Headwaters from This Place 3
7. A Letter to Guillermo Concerning Why i Must Write 6
8. A Letter About Memory on my Abuelito’s 87th Birthday 8
9. A Letter to K. Translating Spanish 10
10. A Letter to K. About Rain and Hammers 12
11. a letter from my journal to juan 14
12. What Innate Star Guided Her—Hope
13. A Letter to the Headwaters About Blackbirds, Hollow Core Doors and Other Gifts 19
14. An Open Letter Upon Seeing the Stars In A New Way 23
15. To Whom It May Concern (Cami I): 25
16. A Letter to the Graduating Class of 2008, Coronado High School, Gallina, New Mexico 28
17. A Letter to an Adopted Son 31
18. Cover Letter 32
19. A Letter, Of Sorts, To My Agapetos Somatiko Eidei 36
20. Staying is Losing—Outsiders
21. A Letter to the Headwaters from the Sovereign Banks of the Conejos 45
22. A Letter from the Confluence of a Very Old River, Ghosts, and a Few Brief Moments of Light 48
23. A Letter to the Headwaters About Remembering My Father in the Future, 54
24. A Letter for the Unidentified Mexican National Who Died at 5:00 p.m. Somewhere Between San Luis and Manassa, His Van Rolling 3¼Times 58
25. Some Measure of Mercy—Justice
26. A Letter to the Headwaters Regarding a Boy’s Memory 63
27. To Whom It May Concern (Cami II): 67
28. A letter to the parents of the San Luis Valley 71
29. A Letter to the Headwaters from the Radical Center 78
30. A letter to Pablo about hope 81
31. Ella—The Land
32. A Letter to the Headwaters Concerning What is Not There 87
33. A Letter to Leopold Upon Reading “The River of the Mother of God” 90
34. An Open Letter on December 20th 98
35. It is Our Imperfections—Resilience
36. A Letter to the Headwaters from My River Dream, 106
37. A Letter to Mumper from a 4:00 a.m. Campus 112
38. A letter to the Men of Troy Concerning the Nature of Joy 117
39. A Letter to the Men of Troy 121
40. A Letter to Guillermo, Having Missed His Call 124
41. A Letter to the Antonito High School Graduating Class of 2013 Regarding Their Book of Dreams, Happiness and Other Perpetual Things 126
42. A Letter to the Men of Troy, Where I Explain A Few Things 131
43. A Letter Regarding the Palace of Lost Fish 136