Jeff Biggers (born in 1963) is an American
historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...
,
journalist
A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...
,
playwright
A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays.
Etymology
The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...
, and
monologist
A monologist (), or interchangeably monologuist (), is a solo artist who recites or gives dramatic readings from a monologue, soliloquy, poetry, or work of literature, for the entertainment of an audience. The term can also refer to a person wh ...
. He is the author and editor of ten books. His most recent book,
Sardinia: An Unexpected Journey in Italy, is a cultural history and travelogue of the island.
According to Yale Climate Connection, Biggers is "
prominent author and activistwriting extensively about environmental and climate issues", performing and lecturing frequently at festivals, theatres, conferences, universities and schools across the United States.
As the founder of the Climate Narrative Project, he has served as th
Writer-in-Residence in the Office of Sustainability at the
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...
, and as the Campbell-Stripling Distinguished Writer-in-Residence at
Wesleyan College
Wesleyan College is a private, liberal arts women's college in Macon, Georgia. Founded in 1836, Wesleyan was the first college in the world chartered to grant degrees to women.
History
The school was chartered on December 23, 1836, as the Geo ...
in Georgia. As part of his climate narrative work, Biggers is the author and performer of the "Ecopolis Monologues," in which he envisions ways for
regenerative city initiatives. Adapted to local initiatives and history, the Ecopolis monologues had been performed at conferences, universities and theatre venues throughout America.
In 2008, Bigger
wrotea series of articles calling for a
Green New Deal
Green New Deal (GND) proposals call for public policy to address climate change along with achieving other social aims like job creation and reducing economic inequality. The name refers back to the New Deal, a set of social and economic refo ...
. As the grandson of a
coal miner
Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...
from southern Illinois, Jeff Biggers has been a vocal critic of
mountaintop removal
Mountaintop removal mining (MTR), also known as mountaintop mining (MTM), is a form of surface mining at the summit or summit ridge of a mountain. Coal seams are extracted from a mountain by removing the land, or overburden, above the seams. Thi ...
in
Appalachia
Appalachia () is a cultural region in the Eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York State to northern Alabama and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Newfoundland and Labrador, Ca ...
and
strip mining
Surface mining, including strip mining, open-pit mining and mountaintop removal mining, is a broad category of mining in which soil and rock overlying the mineral deposit (the overburden) are removed, in contrast to underground mining, in which ...
across the nation, poorly enforced
black lung and mining workplace safety laws, and the fallacy of "clean coal" slogans. Biggers' dispatches and reports from coal mining regions around the world have been collected at the Reckoning in Appalachia website.
Writing career
/h1>
Non-fiction books
Focused on marginalized regions and recovering hidden histories, Biggers has written cultural histories, travel memoir and journalistic reportage based in Appalachia, the American Midwest, the US-Mexico borderlands, Mexico, India and Italy.
United States of Appachia
Published in 2006, ''The United States of Appalachia'' argues that beyond its mythology in the American imagination, Appalachia has long been a vanguard region in the United States-—a cradle of U.S. freedom and independence, and a hotbed for literature and music. Some of the most quintessential and daring American innovations, rebellions, and social movements have emerged from an area often stereotyped as a quaint backwater, he says, and in the process, immigrants from the
Appalachian diaspora have become some of America's most famous leaders. The
Asheville Citizen-Times
The ''Asheville Citizen-Times'' is an American, English language daily newspaper of Asheville, North Carolina. It was formed in 1991 as a result of a merger of the morning ''Asheville Citizen'' and the afternoon ''Asheville Times''. It is owned ...
reviewed it as a "masterpiece of popular history...revelations abound." One reviewer said the book is "full of historical insights...debunking stereotypes is one of the driving motivations behind Biggers' writing."
In the Sierra Madre
Published in 2006, ''In the Sierra Madre'' is a memoir and narrative nonfiction history that chronicles the life and times in one of the most famous, yet unknown, regions in the world. Based on his one-year sojourn among the native
Rarámuri
The Rarámuri or Tarahumara is a group of indigenous people of the Americas living in the state of Chihuahua in Mexico. They are renowned for their long-distance running ability.
Originally, inhabitants of much of Chihuahua, the Rarámuri r ...
/Tarahumara of Mexico, Biggers examines the ways of a resilient indigenous culture in the Americas, the exploits of the Mexican mountaineers, and the parade of argonauts and accidental travelers that has journeyed into the Sierra Madre over centuries. From African explorers, Bohemian friars, Confederate and Irish war deserters, French poets, Boer and Russian commandos, hidden Apache and Mennonite communities, bewildered archaeologists, addled writers, and legendary characters like
Antonin Artaud
Antoine Marie Joseph Paul Artaud, better known as Antonin Artaud (; 4 September 1896 – 4 March 1948), was a French writer, poet, dramatist, visual artist, essayist, actor and theatre director. He is widely recognized as a major figure of the E ...
,
B. Traven
B. Traven (; Bruno Traven in some accounts) was the pen name of a novelist, presumed to be German, whose real name, nationality, date and place of birth and details of biography are all subject to dispute. One certainty about Traven's life is ...
,
Sergei Eisenstein
Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein (russian: Сергей Михайлович Эйзенштейн, p=sʲɪrˈɡʲej mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪtɕ ɪjzʲɪnˈʂtʲejn, 2=Sergey Mikhaylovich Eyzenshteyn; 11 February 1948) was a Soviet film director, screenw ...
,
George Patton
George Smith Patton Jr. (November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh United States Army in the Mediterranean Theater of World War II, and the Third United States Army in France ...
,
Geronimo
Geronimo ( apm, Goyaałé, , ; June 16, 1829 – February 17, 1909) was a prominent leader and medicine man from the Bedonkohe band of the Ndendahe Apache people. From 1850 to 1886, Geronimo joined with members of three other Central Apache ba ...
and
, Biggers searches for the legendary treasures of the Sierra Madre (Mexico's Copper Canyon). ''In the Sierra Madre'' won the Gold Medal in Foreword Magazine's Book of the Year Awards (Travel Essays) in 2006, and the Illinois Arts Council Nonfiction Award. The memoir was called by
Booklist
''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is av ...
"an astonishing sojourn" in 2006.
Reckoning at Eagle Creek
Published in 2010, "Reckoning at Eagle Creek: The Secret Legacy of Coal in the Heartland" is a
family saga
The family saga is a genre of literature which chronicles the lives and doings of a family or a number of related or interconnected families over a period of time. In novels (or sometimes sequences of novels) with a serious intent, this is often ...
, part memoir, cultural history, and journalistic investigation, examining the impact of coal mining on Biggers' native region of southern Illinois. The book examines the loss of his family's 200-year-old homestead to strip mining, and the historical parallel impact of coal mining on communities and their environment. It won the Sierra Club's David Brower Award in 2010, and the Delta Prize for Literature. Looking back to the removal of Native Americans, the book laces the history of Biggers' own family, including the destruction of their 200-year-old historic community in the Shawnee forests into the development of the coal industry, African slavery and coal mining, the history of workplace safety and labor union struggles, and environmental and heritage movements against strip-mining and coal-fired plants. Publishers Weekly called it "part historical narrative, part family memoir, part pastoral paean, and part jeremiad against the abuse of the land and of the men who gave and continue to give their lives to (and often for) the mines,
eckoning at Eagle Creekputs a human face on the industry that supplies nearly half of America’s energy…it offers a rare historical perspective on the vital yet little considered industry, along with a devastating critique of the myth of ‘clean coal.’ ”
State Out of the Union
Published om 2012, Publishers Weekly selected "''State Out of the Union: Arizona and the Final Showdown Over the American Dream''," as a Top Ten Title in Social Science. "''State Out of the Union"'' was described by Kirkus Reviews as "masterful at showing how the past is prologue… A timely book, especially with immigration policy playing a major role in the upcoming presidential campaign.” In reviewing "State Out of the Union," Progressive Magazine said: “the title of Jeff Biggers’s sweeping chronicle of Arizona, State Out of the Union, fittingly evokes Lincoln’s ominous words at the outset of the Civil War… Biggers’s lesson for his readers is that throughout its century of turmoil, Arizona’s cycles of conflict move in a progressive trajectory. While many political movements have put down roots in the state, the paths their struggles collectively blaze for the country ultimately point toward emancipation.” Another critic said, "for Jeff Biggers what the immigration policy of this country should be is as clear as unpolluted, smog-free air, and crystal clean, unchemicalized water. Biggers, an author, journalist, storyteller, and playwright is not typical, however. His knowledge and writings about vital trending issues ... run far and wide. He is a discerning advocate. He has followed and joined the immigration movement in Arizona before and after the fashioning of SB1070."
Trials of a Scold
Published in 2017. "Trials of a Scold: The Incredible True Story of Writer Anne Royall" was longlisted for the
PEN/Jacqueline Bograd Weld Award for Biography (2018), and chronicles the life and times of pioneering writer and muckraker Anne Royall.
Resistance: Reclaiming an American Tradition
Published in 2018, Resistance is a "widely ranging history of intellectual and moral resistance within American politics," according t
Kirkus Reviews It includes portraits of Native American and early American figures, and the American legacy of resistance to duplicitous authority for civil rights, women's rights, immigrant rights, environmental protection, free speech. In an interview wit
PEN American, Biggers said "In dealing with the most challenging issues of every generation, resistance to duplicitous civil authority and its corporate enablers has defined our quintessential American story." Social critic Jeff Chang called his most recent book, "Resistance: Reclaiming an American Tradition", "powerful, urgent essays."
In Sardinia
Published in 2023, In Sardinia is a cultural history and travelogue based on Biggers' sojourn in Sardinia, and his travels around the island
Kirkus Reviewscalled the book "a fascinating journey." According to Frances Mayes, New York Times bestselling author of Under the Tuscan Sun: “At last, a grand companion to the mysterious and enchanting island of Sardinia. Known to most travelers for its beaches, Sardinia’s complex archeological heritage extends back to neolithic times. Jeff Biggers, the consummate traveler/ scholar, starts in beautiful Alghero and begins exploring the entire island, delving into the rich traditions of music, arts, dialects, crafts, and literature. Along the way, he and his family revel in local lore, festivals, food, and wine. Written with verve and love, In Sardinia is the book I’ll be taking on future trips.”
Stage plays
Biggers is also a playwright, and performer of monologues.
Biggers has appeared on campuses and in cities across the country, performing adaptations of hi
"Ecopolis" monologues.
He has turned many of his books, including ''In the Sierra Madre'' and ''State Out of the Union'', int
monologue performances
In Italy, Biggers co-founded th
Mare Nostrum Theatre Projectand has worked wit
and other theatre groups in Italy.
Across the Stones of Fire
His first play
"4½ Hours: Across the Stones of Fire" explores the fate of a family threatened by an impending strip mining operation in their community. The play toured nationally and appeared on Off-Broadway at the Gene Frankel Theatre in New York City on June 4–13, 2010.
Damnatio Memoriae
His published play, "Damnatio Memoriae: A Play, Una Commedia,'" (2015) was described by author Rilla Askew as "a timeless examination of human rights, human dignity, and what it means to be a "citizen," the play reveals forgotten stories while bringing to life the dilemmas of our modern world, reminding us that, in so many ways, they are one and the same." The play was produced in Bologna and Florence, Italy in 2017 and 2019.
In Italy, Biggers founded th
Mare Nostrum Theatre Project.
Kaminski's Lot
His play
" commissioned by Indiana University Northwest, deals with climate change and environmental justice. The play was produced at Theatre Northwest in Gary, Indiana in 2021.
Awards and honors
Biggers has won numerous awards and honors, including an American Book Award, the David Brower Award for Environmental Reporting, Foreword Magazine Book of the Year Award, Lowell Thomas Award for Travel Journalism, Delta Award for Literature, Plattner Award for Appalachian Literature, an Illinois Arts Council Creative Non-Fiction Award, the Garst Memorial Award for Media (UN Association Iowa), and a Field Foundation Fellowship. He is a contributing editor to The Bloomsbury Review, and is a member of the PEN American Center. His play, "4 1/2 Hours: Across the Stones of Fire," won the "Greener Planet Award" at the Planet Connections Theatre Festivity in New York City, and has appeared at theatres around the country. Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine selected Biggers as one of its 100 Pioneers.
Books
* Biggers, Jeff, Brosi, George and West, Don (2004), ''No Lonesome Road: Selected Prose and Poems by Don West''. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
* Biggers, Jeff (2006), ''In the Sierra Madre''. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
* Biggers, Jeff, (2006), ''The United States of Appalachia: How Southern Mountaineers Brought Independence, Culture and Enlightenment to America''. Emeryville, CA: Shoemaker and Hoard.
* Biggers, Jeff (2007), ''In the Sierra Madre''. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
* Biggers, Jeff, (2007), ''The United States of Appalachia: How Southern Mountaineers Brought Independence, Culture and Enlightenment to America''. Emeryville, CA: Shoemaker and Hoard.
* Biggers, Jeff (2010), ''Reckoning at Eagle Creek: The Secret Legacy of Coal in the Heartland''. New York: The Nation/Basic Books.
* Biggers, Jeff (2011), "Dans La Sierra Madre". Paris: Albin Michel.
* Biggers, Jeff (2011), "They'll Cut Off Your Project: A Mingo County Chronicle" by Huey Perry. Foreword by Jeff Biggers. Morgantown: WVU Press.
* Biggers, Jeff (2012), "State Out of the Union: Arizona and the Final Showdown Over the American Dream." New York: Nation Books.
* Biggers, Jeff (2014). "Reckoning at Eagle Creek: The Secret Legacy of Coal in the Heartland." Carbondale: SIU Press.
* Biggers, Jeff (2015). "Damnatio Memoriae: A Play, Una Commedia." San Antonio, Texas: Wings Press.
* Biggers, Jeff (2017), ''The Trials of a Scold: The Incredible True Story of Writer
Anne Royall
Anne Royall (June 11, 1769 – October 1, 1854) was a travel writer, newspaper editor, and, by some accounts, the first professional female journalist in the United States.
Early life
She was born Anne Newport in Baltimore, Maryland. Anne grew ...
''. New York: St. Martin's Press.
* Biggers, Jeff (2018). "Resistance: Reclaiming an American Tradition." Berkeley: Counterpoint Press.
* Biggers, Jeff (2023). "In Sardinia: Unexpected Journey in Italy," New York/London: Melville House.
References
External links
Official Website* http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeff-biggers/
* http://america.aljazeera.com/profiles/b/jeff-biggers.html
"From these mountains: The Southern Appalachians and the making of America"Review of ''The United States of Appalachia'' by Jon Elliston, 22 February 2006 ''Mountain Xpress'' (Vol. 12, Iss. 03). Link confirmed/reference expanded 2010-02-26.
"Celebrating the History of Appalachia"NPR, May 7, 2006.
Podcast ''
Yellowstone Public Radio
Yellowstone Public Radio is a public radio regional network based in Billings, Montana with transmitters covering most of Montana, as well as northern Wyoming and eastern Idaho. It is operated by Montana State University Billings. It airs a m ...
'' with Leni Hollman.
interviewby
Jean Feraca
Jean Feraca is an American poet, journalist, and radio host.
Biography
She was born in New York state, majored in English at Manhattanville College, and received an M.S. degree from the University of Michigan. After college she lived in Rome and ...
re: ''In the Sierra Madre''. NPR/
Wisconsin Public Radio
Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR) is a network of 34 public radio stations in the state of Wisconsin. WPR's network is divided into two distinct analog services, the ''Ideas Network'' and the ''NPR News & Music Network,'' as well as the ''All Classi ...
's ''Here on Earth''. February 26, 2007.
"As Obama Pushes 'Clean Coal,' Jeff Biggers Tracks History of Destructive Mining in ''Reckoning at Eagle Creek''"Interview with
Amy Goodman
Amy Goodman (born April 13, 1957) is an American broadcast journalist, syndicated columnist, investigative reporter, and author. Her investigative journalism career includes coverage of the East Timor independence movement, Morocco's occupation ...
, ''
Democracy Now
''Democracy Now!'' is an hour-long American TV, radio, and Internet news program hosted by journalists Amy Goodman (who also acts as the show's executive producer), Juan González, and Nermeen Shaikh. The show, which airs live each weekday at ...
'', February 26, 2010. Retrieved 2010-02-26.
Hundredth Anniversary of the Ludlow Massacre, Jeff Biggers and historian Jonathan Rees, ''
The Real News
The Real News Network (TRNN) is an independent, nonprofit news organization based in Baltimore, MD that covers both national and international news.
History
TRNN was founded by documentary producer Paul Jay and Mishuk Munier in September 2 ...
'', 2014.04.20
* Damnatio Memoriae: Returning Mediterranean's Lost Migration History to Center Stage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Biggers, Jeff
1963 births
Living people
American male writers
Hunter College alumni
University of California, Berkeley alumni
University of Arizona alumni
Columbia University alumni
American Book Award winners
Travel writers