Donna Murray
Donna Murray - You could say my life has been anything but conventional. I always called myself a gypsy, traveling to many places and reinventing myself many times. I have worked with iconic legends like Martha Graham and Elizabeth Taylor, and lived in Buenos Aires, Argentina and Bali, Indonesia. While working with the San Francisco Ballet on the Opening Night Gala in 2010, I left on that dark and rainy evening and stepped into a deep pothole, breaking both my feet. With months of recuperation ahead, I was given the opportunity to write my novel, Wolf Den Hollow: one that had been waiting to be told for over thirty years.
Living the good life in the beautiful Napa Valley, I am now writing my memoir. My interests are diverse, with a passion for the arts and culture, travel, nature, food and wine.
Instagram: @wine_country_writer
Is there a genre of music that influences your writing/thinking? Do you listen to music while you write?
When writing, I prefer peace and quiet with no distractions. For me . . . the most beautiful sound is silence. If I feel like listening to some background music, I will put on soft jazz like Bill Evans, pianist, and Chet Baker, trumpeter and vocalist, or a classical cellist like Yo Yo Ma. When I’m not writing, I listen to all genres of music, and whatever I’m in the mood for.
Is there a work of art that you love? Why? Have you ever visited it in person?
Choosing one work of art would be so difficult. One that I find so heartfelt is Dorothea Lange’s Migrant Mother, the black and white photograph taken in 1936 that became one of the most iconic photos in American history. It portrays a mother framed by her three children with a look of hopelessness and despair etched in her face. Dorothea Lange’s work depicts the human cost of the Great Depression and the thousands displaced during the drought-stricken years of The Dust Bowl. After appearing in a San Francisco newspaper, over 20,000 pounds of food was sent to the migrant worker camp where the photo was taken.
I have seen Dorothea Lange exhibitions over the years, most recently at the Napa Valley Museum. I also admire the work of Diane Arbus, the American photographer best known for her photographs of people on the fringes of society, and Tina Modotti, the Italian-American photographer that captured social change with her camera. Also known for her friendship with Frida Kahlo and being romantically involved with both her and Diego Rivera.
What do you worry about?
How our country and the world is changing and that we are not doing enough about climate change. It is impacting where I live and me personally. A raging fire caused me to run out in the middle of the night on two occasions, with flames so close, they nearly burned down my home. I have been ordered to evacuate several times, each time leaving everything that I owned behind. This is becoming our way of life. And it’s not just the Napa Valley, it’s happening up and down the West Coast. Fires are decimating communities and sending families fleeing from their homes. I am filled with uncertainty, yet, I am torn. I call this God’s country. I may have to leave, and if I do, it will be to a place where nature calls.
What brings you great joy?
My daughter, son and two grandchildren bring me the greatest joy! I love nothing more than to spend time with them. Anything having to do with nature. I live on a vineyard overlooking the mountains and wake up to a spectacular view every morning. The lighting of the landscape changes throughout the day, as I sit at my desk writing. The songbirds serenade and the squirrels come and go from where they dwell in the walnut tree outside my window. I have sightings of wildlife from barred and spotted bobcats to strutting peacocks and wild turkeys. I love the ever-changing seasons from the brilliant yellow mustard that blooms in the early spring, to veraison, the progression from green to purple grapes, and the harvest that follows when you can smell the crush all over the valley. And then comes the arrival of autumn, turning the leaves to vivid hues of red, gold, and orange. These are the things that bring me great joy!
Do you speak a second language? Do you think differently in that language? Does it influence your writing?
In 1991 I rented a villa for one month in Bali and fell in love with the tropical landscape and the culture: the terraced rice fields and the Balinese men that walked their cows on the beach each morning. Back then, there were no high-end hotels and restaurants with few mopeds on the road. Ten years later I began manufacturing garments there and moved into a Rumah, a Balinese-style house surrounded by lush gardens and completely open, even the bathrooms were outside. In the little village where I lived, there happened to be a school where they taught Indonesian. I was inspired to learn and communicate with the factory workers. The classes, together with the help of my friends and staff, enabled me to become fluent.
Yes, you think differently speaking their language, because when you live there, you embrace their cultural and Hindu traditions. I found them to be the most beautiful people. I was writing text for photography books at the time.
