Behind the Volcanoes

Editorial Review

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Assist News Service
Volcanoes and Verse Written by Brian Nixon
Three Sisters: Volcanoes in Albuquerque By Brian Nixon, Special to ASSIST News Service
ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO (ANS - May 22, 2017) -- Albuquerque is known for several notable things. Probably the most popular is the hit TV series Breaking Bad, filmed and based in the city. Then there's the International BalloonFestival, the most photographed event in the US. .....
Yet when most people think of Albuquerque they usually don't consider the "Three Sisters," volcanoes on the west side of town.
The phrase "Three sisters" is a little misleading, however. There are actually five cinder volcanoes, all dormant, but not extinct, dottingthe west side of the city. The volcanoes are part of the Rio Grande Rift Valley and last erupted roughly 150,000 years ago. The names of thethree largest volcanoes are simple enough, "Black," "Vulcan," and "JA."The two smaller volcanoes are named "Butte" and "Bond." The volcanoesare part of the Petroglyph's National Monument, seventeen miles of openmesas, volcanic rock, petroglyph art (ancient Native art), and uniquewildlife [1].
I know the Monument well as I live at its base. I walk the Petroglyphsweekly, and the volcanoes up the mesa are a daily reminder of the powerand past of the region. I have my favorite petroglyph artwork (one Icall the "Dancing Man") and revel in seeing coyotes, roadrunners, quail, rabbits, centipedes, snakes, and the occasional tarantulas along itspath. The Petroglyph's National Monument is one of the reasons I elected to live on the west side of Albuquerque, providing history, culture,and stark, natural beauty.
So when I met poet, Jules Nyquist -- whose book Behind the Volcanoes, a 2014 New Mexico/Arizona Book Finalist -- at the first annual Poet'sPicnic at the Open Space Center, I knew I needed to purchase the book[2].
Jules was working the Beatlick Press poetry table [3]. She gave me aquick rundown of the books and informed me about the Poetry Playhouse in downtown Albuquerque [4]. I've heard of Nyquist though never met her or heard one of her poetry readings. I was aware she has become a recentstaple of poetry gatherings in Albuquerque, along with former PoetLaureate's Hakim Bellamy and Jessica Helen Lopez.

And as the founder of the Poetry Playhouse in Albuquerque, Nyquist"hosts visiting poets and conducts workshops on poetry, creative writing and the creative process."


Each section begins with a photograph of the volcanoes and commences with wonderfully wrought verse.
I suppose the opening poem -- the namesake of the book -- describes it best:
Behind the volcanoes
there are grassy knolls
and dark emeralds [5].
This is exactly what you find in Behind the Volcanoes:"grassy knolls" (beautiful imagery and memories carved out in skilledverse) with "dark emeralds" (death and despair with a glimmer of hope).
The etymology of the word emerald is taken from an old French word esmeraude, meaning a "green gem." I think the phrase describes the book well; itis a gem. But just as important, the word describes the volcanoes andthe Petroglyphs National Monument: a gem of the Albuquerque region --precious stones that have been cut, polished, and engraved.
I'm glad God's finger -- through nature -- carved and cut thevolcanoes, as I'm pleased that Nyquist cut and polished the words thatare engraved in Behind the Volcanoes.
Both are verse made of volcanoes.