Getting to know the cows--mourning their dead and knowing their songs-- interview in Adelaide Literary Magazine-- #amreading #govegan
- Janet Mason
- Apr 25
- 2 min read
This week, I thought I'd post an excerpt from an interview I did with Adelaide Literary Magazine, which featured my novel CINNAMON, a dairy cow's (and her farmer's) path to freedom. The YouTube video is below, and the text of the excerpt is underneath.
Cinnamon was inspired directly by my contact with the cows. In particular, it was inspired by our cow friend Sacred. Sacred knew us and would always come to the fence to greet us when we visited her. My partner, Barbara, wrote a special song for Sacred because she was so special to us and Sacred knew her song, and would stand there alert and regal when Barbara sang it to her. It was through Sacred that I got to know the other cows and their habits such as mourning their dead and their calves who are taken away from them at birth. This practice is done so the cows’ milk can be taken from them and used for human consumption. Cows have to be pregnant in order to produce milk—just like human mothers.
Eventually, my partner and a group that she was in, managed to rescue Sacred and send her to a farm animal sanctuary where she lived out the rest of her natural life. The sanctuary is called “The Cow Sanctuary” and is the model for the sanctuary in Cinnamon. I wrote about “The Cow Sanctuary” from my partner’s description of it, before I actually visited it.
I was also inspired by E.B. White’s classic Charlotte’s Web and by the life of E.B. White. He was a “gentleman farmer” which meant he made his living by other means. I learned he got very attached to his farm animals, especially when they became ill, and it broke his heart to send them to be slaughtered—especially after he nursed them back to health. He couldn’t take things to the next level, so I did.
CINNAMON, my most recent novel, is available on amazon.com: Cinnamon: A dairy cow’s (and her farmer’s) path to freedom: Mason, Janet: 9781958419786: Amazon.com: Books
CINNAMON is also available through your local bookstore and library
(just ask them to order it if they don’t have it).
For more information on my novel THEY, a biblical tale of secret genders published by Adelaide Books click here.
To learn more about The Unicorn, The Mystery, click here:
For more information on my novel Loving Artemis, an endearing tale of revolution, love, and marriage, click here.
