Miles W. Griffis, Author at High Country News https://www.hcn.org A nonprofit independent magazine of unblinking journalism that shines a light on all of the complexities of the West. Mon, 02 Dec 2024 19:31:04 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://www.hcn.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/cropped-HCN_Logo-Monogram_White_Sq-2-32x32.png Miles W. Griffis, Author at High Country News https://www.hcn.org 32 32 229054741 How blue jeans got their sexy reputation https://www.hcn.org/issues/56-12/how-blue-jeans-got-their-sexy-reputation/ Sun, 01 Dec 2024 08:25:00 +0000 https://www.hcn.org/?p=329900

The artist George Quaintance painted some of the first erotic depictions of denim.

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]]> 329900 What a 9,000-mile butterfly migration taught me about queer survival https://www.hcn.org/issues/56-9/what-a-9000-mile-butterfly-migration-taught-me-about-queer-survival/ Sun, 01 Sep 2024 07:15:00 +0000 https://www.hcn.org/?p=327473

‘Painted ladies’ go through extraordinary journeys, kindred to that of many LTBTQ+ people.

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]]> 327473 Learning how to live and die with long COVID https://www.hcn.org/issues/56-6/how-to-live-and-die-with-long-covid/ Sat, 01 Jun 2024 07:20:00 +0000 https://www.hcn.org/?p=325532

The late artist David Wojnarowicz’s work has brought me back from the dead.

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]]> 325532 The desert’s Radical Faeries https://www.hcn.org/issues/56-3/the-deserts-radical-faeries/ Fri, 01 Mar 2024 08:45:00 +0000 https://www.hcn.org/?p=322853 At an intimate campout in Anza Borrego Desert State Park, 1994, Harry Hay expounds his vision of personal empowerment centered in the natural world.

How a gathering of gay men in the Sonoran Desert started a worldwide movement rooted in nature.

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]]> 322853 How the New Mexico whiptail became a gay icon https://www.hcn.org/issues/55-12/confetti-westerns-how-the-new-mexico-whiptail-became-a-gay-icon/ Mon, 27 Nov 2023 09:00:00 +0000 https://www.hcn.org/articles/confetti-westerns-how-the-new-mexico-whiptail-became-a-gay-icon/

All members of the lizard species are female and reproduce asexually through a process called parthenogenesis.

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]]> 321603 What the gray jay taught me about myself https://www.hcn.org/issues/55-9/confetti-westerns-what-the-gray-jay-taught-me-about-myself/ Fri, 01 Sep 2023 08:00:00 +0000 https://www.hcn.org/confetti-westerns-what-the-gray-jay-taught-me-about-myself/

The authenticity and playfulness of the naughty, queer bird is something to celebrate.

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]]> 226300 The flamboyance of wildflowers https://www.hcn.org/issues/55-6/south-confetti-westerns-the-flamboyance-of-wildflower-blooms/ Tue, 25 Apr 2023 08:00:00 +0000 https://www.hcn.org/south-confetti-westerns-the-flamboyance-of-wildflower-blooms/ “inland echo.” Oil on canvas, 2023.

My Pansy Craze Expedition commemorated an important era of queer culture before it was trampled like a super bloom.

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]]> 226115 Poets reflect on the Club Q shooting in Colorado Springs https://www.hcn.org/articles/south-interview-poets-reflect-on-the-club-q-shooting-in-colorado-springs/ Wed, 30 Nov 2022 09:00:00 +0000 https://www.hcn.org/2022/11/30/poets-reflect-on-the-club-q-shooting-in-colorado-springs/

A conversation with award-winning poet Nico Wilkinson.

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]]> 97444 A smoldering threat to wildland firefighters https://www.hcn.org/issues/54-10/south-covid19-a-smoldering-threat-to-wildland-firefighters/ Sat, 01 Oct 2022 08:00:00 +0000 https://www.hcn.org/2022/10/01/a-smoldering-threat-to-wildland-firefighters/

Long COVID affects more than 16 million Americans, and firefighters are at increased risk of getting it.

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]]> 121509 What’s wrong with the Manitou Cliff Dwellings Museum and Preserve? https://www.hcn.org/issues/54-4/archaeology-whats-wrong-with-the-manitou-cliff-dwellings-museum-and-preserve/ Fri, 01 Apr 2022 08:00:00 +0000 https://www.hcn.org/2022/04/01/whats-wrong-with-the-manitou-cliff-dwellings-museum-and-preserve/

Archival documents reveal the true origins of a popular Colorado tourist attraction.

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