Home Ground: Language for an American Landscape

Debra Gwartney is the author of the memoir Live Through This, which expands the story of her relationship with her daughters that was broadcast on This American Life in 2002. Her short stories, personal narratives, essays, and articles have appeared in numerous magazines and journals. Recent publications include a memoir in Triquarterly, an essay in Modern Bride magazine, and a “Modern Love” essay in the New York Times. She is a former reporter for the Oregonian and was a nonfiction scholar at the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference. Her honors include fellowships from the Oregon Arts Commission, Literary Arts, the Hedgebrook Writers’ Colony, the Wurlitzer Foundation, and the American Antiquarian Society, and the John Eliot Teaching Award at Portland State University. She lives in Western Oregon. (Debra Gwartney)

Barry Lopez is an essayist, author, and short-story writer and has traveled extensively in both remote and populated parts of the world. He is the author of Arctic Dreams, for which he received the National Book Award; Of Wolves and Men, a National Book Award finalist for which he received the John Burroughs and Christopher medals; and eight works of fiction, including Light Action in the Caribbean, Field Notes, and Resistance. His essays are collected in two books, Crossing Open Ground and About This Life. He contributes regularly to Granta, the Georgia Review, Orion, Outside, the Paris Review, Manoa, and other publications. His work has appeared in dozens of anthologies, including Best American Essays, Best Spiritual Writing, and the “best” collections from National Geographic, Outside, the Georgia Review, the Paris Review, and other periodicals. Lopez lives in western Oregon.