Barry Holstun Lopez is an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author, essayist, and
fictionFiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
writer whose work is known for its environmental and social concerns.
Biography
Lopez was born in
Port Chester, New YorkPort Chester is a village in Westchester County, New York, United States. The village is part of the town of Rye. As of the 2010 census, Port Chester had a population of 28,967...
and raised in
Southern CaliforniaSouthern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
and
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. He attended the
University of Notre DameThe University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...
, earning undergraduate and graduate degrees there in 1966 and 1968. He also attended
New York UniversityNew York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
and the
University of Oregon-Colleges and schools:The University of Oregon is organized into eight schools and colleges—six professional schools and colleges, an Arts and Sciences College and an Honors College.- School of Architecture and Allied Arts :...
. His first stories appeared in 1966,
Lopez has written introductions for and guest edited a number of books and anthologies, including
Home Ground with Debra Gwartney,
The Best American Spiritual Writing 2005, and
The Future of Nature. In 2008, he guest edited two volumes of the journal
Manoa with Frank Stewart,
Maps of Reconciliation and
Gates of Reconciliation. Lopez along with
Peter MatthiessenPeter Matthiessen is a two-time National Book Award-winning American novelist and non-fiction writer, as well as an environmental activist...
,
Terry Tempest WilliamsTerry Tempest Williams , is an American author, conservationist and activist.Williams’ writing is rooted in the American West and has been significantly influenced by the arid landscape of her native Utah in which she was raised...
, and
James Galvin (poet)James Galvin is an American poet. He has published six collections of poetry, most recently As Is , "X: Poems," and Resurrection Update, Collected Poems, 1975-1997 which was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Award, the Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize, and the Poet’s Prize...
was hailed in Mark Tredinnick's
The Land's Wild Music (Trinity University Press, 2005) in which Tredinnick analyzed how the landscape nourished and developed Lopez's writing.
An archive of Lopez's manuscripts and other work has been established at
Texas Tech UniversityTexas Tech University, often referred to as Texas Tech or TTU, is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and originally known as Texas Technological College, it is the leading institution of the Texas Tech University System and has the...
.
Lopez lives in western
OregonOregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
.
Fiction
- Desert Notes: Reflections in the Eye of a Raven (1976)
- Giving Birth to Thunder, Sleeping with His Daughter (1978)
- River Notes: The Dance of Herons (1979)
- Winter Count (1981)
- Crow and Weasel (1990)
- Field Notes: The Grace Note of the Canyon Wren (1994)
- Lessons from the Wolverine (1997)
- Light Action in the Caribbean (2000)
- Resistance (2004), Oregon Book Award
The Oregon Book Awards are presented annually by Literary Arts, Inc. for "the finest accomplishments by Oregon writers who work in genres of poetry, fiction, literary nonfiction, drama and young readers literature." -History:...
winner
Non-fiction
- Of Wolves and Men (1978), National Book Award
The National Book Awards are a set of American literary awards. Started in 1950, the Awards are presented annually to American authors for literature published in the current year. In 1989 the National Book Foundation, a nonprofit organization which now oversees and manages the National Book...
finalist
- Arctic Dreams: Imagination and Desire in a Northern Landscape (1986), National Book Award and Oregon Book Award winner
- Crossing Open Ground (1988)
- The Rediscovery of North America (1991)
- About This Life: Journeys on the Threshold of Memory (1998)
- Apologia (1998)
- Home Ground: Language for an American Landscape (San Antonio: Trinity University Press, 2010)
His writing has appeared in
Harper's,
OrionOrion is a bimonthly, advertisement-free, magazine focused on nature, the environment, and culture, addressing environmental and societal issues....
,
The New York Times MagazineThe New York Times Magazine is a Sunday magazine supplement included with the Sunday edition of The New York Times. It is host to feature articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors...
,
GrantaGranta is a literary magazine and publisher in the United Kingdom whose mission centers on its "belief in the power and urgency of the story, both in fiction and non-fiction, and the story’s supreme ability to describe, illuminate and make real." In 2007, The Observer stated, "In its blend of...
,
The SunThe Sun is a monthly American magazine of essays, interviews, short stories, poems, and photography.In 1974, Sy Safransky began publishing the Chapel Hill Sun and selling copies for $0.25 each....
, and
ManoaMānoa is a literary journal that includes American and international fiction, poetry, artwork, interviews, and essays of current cultural or literary interest. A notable feature of each issue is original translations of contemporary work from Asian and Pacific nations, selected for each issue by a...
, and in
Best American Essays,
The Best American Spiritual Writing, and the "best of" collections from
OutsideOutside is an American magazine focused on the outdoors. The first issue debuted in September 1977 with its mission statement declaring that the publication was "dedicated to covering the people, sports and activities, politics, art, literature, and hardware of the outdoors..."Its founders were...
,
National Geographic,
The Paris Review,
WitnessWitness is a literary and issue-oriented magazine published by the Black Mountain Institute at UNLV. Each issue includes fiction, poetry, memoir, and literary essays. The magazine has been honored with ten grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, and writings from the journal have been...
, and
The Georgia ReviewThe Georgia Review is an award-winning, nationally respected literary journal founded in 1947 that includes poetry, art, fiction, essays and reviews. It won the National Magazine Award for Fiction in 1986 and the National Magazine Award for Essay in 2007...
.
Awards
- National Book Award
The National Book Awards are a set of American literary awards. Started in 1950, the Awards are presented annually to American authors for literature published in the current year. In 1989 the National Book Foundation, a nonprofit organization which now oversees and manages the National Book...
- Award in Literature, American Academy of Arts and Letters
- Lannan Literary Award
- Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
- John Burroughs Medal
The John Burroughs Medal, named for nature writer John Burroughs , is awarded each year in April by the John Burroughs Association to the author of a book that the association has judged to be distinguished in the field of natural history....
- John Hay Medal
- Three Pacific Northwest Booksellers Awards
- Two Oregon Book Award
The Oregon Book Awards are presented annually by Literary Arts, Inc. for "the finest accomplishments by Oregon writers who work in genres of poetry, fiction, literary nonfiction, drama and young readers literature." -History:...
s
- Two Pushcart Prize
The Pushcart Prize is an American literary prize by Pushcart Press that honors the best "poetry, short fiction, essays or literary whatnot" published in the small presses over the previous year. Magazine and small book press editors are invited to nominate up to 6 works they have featured....
s
- Two Christopher Medals
- PEN Syndicated Fiction Award
- Five National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
Antarctica Fellowships
- Lannan Residency Fellowship
- MacDowell Residency Fellowship
External links