comes to progress”. With the motto, “Clinging Hopelessly to the Past”, this last quote may be an accurate reading of Stiles and his paper. While Stiles recognizes that the Old West of uranium mining and road-building had its share of problems, he cringes at the idea of the New West — a land of condos, paved roads, spandex-wearing bikers, and Olive Garden restaurants. Contributors have included Edward Abbey, who wrote an article that appeared in the first edition of The Zephyr; Ken Sleight, the inspiration for the character Seldom Seen Smith in Abbey’s The Monkey Wrench Gang; and Ned Mudd, an eccentric environmental attorney, musician, and sometimes-philosopher from Alabama.

Mudd is scoring all music for Brave New West. While The Zephyr is a serious record of the movement of culture, economics, and environment, it is also loaded with humorous stories and cartoons. The Zephyr comes alive with eye-catching photos, illustrations, and even advertisements.  Stiles personally illustrates every advertisement in the paper. “Have you ever had to come up with a joke, month after month, for a plumbing business?” asks Stiles. “It’s not easy.” 

Stiles in print is very much Stiles in person — witty, honest, and straightforward, but also slightly self-demoralizing and humble. He is no stranger to controversy, and he draws critics from all sides of a conflict because of his resolve to never shy away from his own personal opinions. When he sees his paper drawing more than its share of criticism, and meanwhile the situation around him continues to deteriorate with every new subdivision, Stiles begins to question his own commitment to his life-long work. Combine this with the death of friends that have inspired and sustained him over the years, and he begins to seriously contemplate shutting the paper down and beginning a new life elsewhere far from southern Utah.

Can Stiles continue amid great strife and loss, or is his vision of an independent paper that speaks truth to power just an antiquated quixotic delusion? This question and its answers will be examined and revealed in “Brave New West.”

Special Guest Speaker: Film Maker Doug Hawes-Davis will discuss the making of Brave New West.
Co-Sponsored by the UM Environmental Studies Department