H. A. Byrd

About H.A. Byrd

Drawing upon an active imagination, Harriet Arden Byrd writes stories rooted in her own adventures. Harriet’s lived in or visited nearly every bit of North America, and she’s traveled with a partner through Mexico and Guatemala, hitchhiking and riding in buses and cattle trucks. Harriet also made her way alone through northern Europe, sleeping under bushes. By fortuitous twists of fate Harriet has lived within diverse indigenous communities for most of her life and has spent decades in the serious study of traditional spirituality. Harriet has her father’s dry sense of humor. She also has her mother’s abundant courage, but, as her husband Kevin points out, “only about certain things.” Although she has been on many a reckless adventure and has had close encounters with cougars and bears and wolves, she’s uncomfortable in elevators and quite afraid of hummingbirds. Those little guys do have awfully sharp beaks.

Growing up in a family full of animals, Harriet brought home a pony when she was eleven and her parents let her keep him. A few years later a fabulous and wonderful donkey came into her life. She loved to ride Galliano, but just as much she loved to run beside him through the woods. This was the start of Harriet’s passion for leading animals around. In her college years she and her dear partner of the time, Karl, took a three-hundred-mile trek through the North Cascades mountain range with their llama Oly and donkey Wilbur. Later on, during her travels, she spent most of a year helping a much-loved Sami family with the reindeer. In addition to little solo excursions by reindeer sled, or wandering by ski leading a boazu with a bell around his neck, Harriet helped drive reindeer by ski and snowmobile across northern Norway and Sweden, into Finland.

Harriet’s background in oral storytelling, and efforts to help preserve some of the traditional stories of the Northwest Coast, have heavily influenced her writing. She learned from our highly respected elder Johnny Moses and naturally incorporates these invaluable teachings of the coastal people into her work. She has also studied with Leslie Conton and Michael Harner, adding layer after layer to her narratives.

These days, Harriet can be found in the small town of Arlington Washington. Technically a city, the downtown core of Arlington has preserved its Old Town feel. Situated on the Snohomish River between the Cascade foothills and the ocean, Arlington has had a dairy and lumber history for a hundred years. Now development encroaches, swallowing up dairy farms in these days of coconut milk. Arlington now looks to attracting visitors and other industries for income. This is where Harriet writes books and walks dogs. She has an interest in the historical buildings and history of the area. A social person, she enjoys walking on the hill and getting to know the people of her community. She’s raised three fine sons with her husband Kevin, and the whole family loves to hike and camp and fish in the sea. It’s a good life, especially when the family gets together.

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