Bruce Nicolas Berger (August 21, 1938 – February 10, 2021) was an American nonfiction writer, poet and pianist. He was best known for a series of books exploring the intersections of nature and culture in desert environments. Berger's book ''The Telling Distance: Conversations with the American Desert'' won the 1990 Western States Book Award and the Colorado Book Award.

Life and education

Berger was born in

Evanston, Illinois Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, Wil ...

, and grew up in the suburban Chicago village of Kenilworth. He was the only child of Nancy Lander and Robert Oscar Berger, an accountant and Kenilworth's mayor. After public school he attended The Lawrenceville School. He graduated from Yale University in 1961 with a B.A. in English. Berger did graduate work at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

, but did not pursue a doctorate.

Career in music

Berger played piano professionally for three years in Spain, which was the source of his memoir ''The End of the Sherry''.

Essays, articles, and poetry

Berger's articles and essays were published in a number of literary quarterlies. For three years he was a contributing editor at American Airlines' magazine, ''

American Way The American way of life or the American way refers to the American nationalist ethos that adheres to the principle of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. At the center of the American way is the belief in an American Dream that is clai ...

'', and collaborated with photographer Miguel Ángel de la Cueva. Berger published a poetry collection, ''Facing the Music''. He was a three-time winner of the Colorado Authors' League Award for Poetry.

Environmental interests

Berger was actively involved in environmental issues and wildlife preservation for the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, The Sierra Club, and The Glen Canyon Institute. For twenty years he was a board member of Niparajá, A. C. in Mexico.

Awards and honors

*2017: The first foreigner to be inducted into the state writers’ association of Baja California Sur, Escritores Sudcalifornianos, A. C. *2016: The Karen Chamberlain Lifetime Achievement Award in Poetry at the Headwaters Poetry Festival in Gunnison, Colorado. *2014: IPPY Award (silver medal) for ''The End of the Sherry'' *2012: Solas Award Grand Prize Bronze for "The Mysterious Fast Mumble" from ''Travelers' Tales'', published in The Best Travel Writing of 2012 *2006: ForeWord Magazine Silver Award for Book of the Year in the Nature category for ''Oasis of Stone: Visions of Baja California Sur'', with photographs by Miguel Ãngel de la Cueva *2013: Colorado Authors’ League Award for Specialty Writing for ''Oasis of Stone: Visions of Baja California Sur'' *1990: The

Western States Book Award Western States Book Award honored notable works of fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, and translation written and published in the Western United States. The award was given annually from 1984 until 2002. Lifetime-achievement awards were also p ...

for Creative Nonfiction for ''The Telling Distance: Conversations with the American Desert''

Publications

* ''Hangin' On: Gordon Snidow Portrays the Cowboy Heritage''; Northland Press, 1980 * ''Notes of a Half-Aspenite''; Ashley & Associates, 1987 * ''A Dazzle of Hummingbirds''; Blake Publishing, 1989 * ''The Telling Distance: Conversations with the American Desert''; Breitenbush Books, 1990; Anchor /Doubleday, 1991; The University of Arizona Press, 1997 * ''There Was A River''; The University of Arizona Press, 1994 * ''Facing the Music'' (poetry); Confluence Press, 1995, (revised and reissued by Conundrum Books, 2015) * ''Almost an Island''; The University of Arizona Press, 1998 * ''Sierra, Sea and Desert: El Vizcaíno''; Agrupación Sierra Madre, 1998 * ''Music in the Mountains''; Johnson Books, 2001 * ''The Complete Half-Aspenite''; WHO Press, 2005 * ''Oasis of Stone: Visions of Baja California Sur'', in collaboration with photographer Miguel Ángel de la Cueva, Sunbelt Books, 2006" Oasis of Stone: Visions of Baja California Sur"
''Mexconnect'', Reviewed by James Tipton April 1, 2008 * ''La Giganta y Guadalupe'', with co-author Exequiel Ezcurra and photographer Miguel Ángel de la Cueva, Niparajá, A. C., 2010 * ''The End of the Sherry'', Aquitas Books, 2014 *''A Desert Harvest: New and Selected Essays'',

Farrar, Straus and Giroux Farrar, Straus and Giroux (FSG) is an American book publishing company, founded in 1946 by Roger Williams Straus Jr. and John C. Farrar. FSG is known for publishing literary books, and its authors have won numerous awards, including Pulitzer ...

, 2019

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Berger, Bruce 1938 births 2021 deaths Writers from Evanston, Illinois University of California, Berkeley alumni Yale College alumni American male non-fiction writers 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American poets 21st-century American poets Poets from Illinois American male poets American pianists American expatriates in Spain