Matthew Bamberg

Matthew Bamberg’s short story collection weaves a tapestry of Florida life, set against the backdrop of the Cuban Revolution and the counterculture upheavals of the 1960s. Drawing from his suburban Miami upbringing in historic Coconut Grove, Bamberg introduces a quirky protagonist spiraling into the bizarre--Cuban immigration, the occult, Vietnam War protests, drugs, and inconsistent values. He navigates prophecy, faith, and acceptance through eccentric interactions and sharp internal debates. The story lures readers' attention through the sharp dialog of blossoming ambivalence toward family and friends.

Bamberg’s career began with a focus on meteorology, which is reflected in the story collection, producing the stark contrast of his role in the counterculture while working at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) on groundbreaking cloud-seeding experiments across South Florida. The travels from Coconut Grove to Florida State University, unique to the scope and sequence of the stories, illustrate the protagonist’s obsession with hurricanes formed at an early age, leading him to seek a degree in meteorology.

After moving to San Francisco a few years later, Bamberg taught in public schools in the Bay Area while earning an interdisciplinary arts master’s degree from San Francisco State University. The richly layered stories he pens are focused on retro settings. The transformation of mid-twentieth-century Coconut Grove, Florida, is seen through a child’s senses as he grows up among as many layers of emotion as a media noche sandwich, grilled into a gooey, cheesy ethos with roasted pork and smoked ham.

The quirky drama of Bamberg’s literary fiction, based upon real life, weaves the art and science of questioning values that were influenced by his graduate studies of societal boundaries between the rigors of organized religion and the freedom to be himself.

By the 1990s, Bamberg merged writing and photography, focusing on history and social justice. His work evolved into nonfiction, with contributions to publications such as The Desert Sun and Palm Springs Life, as well as a travel column titled "One Tank Trips." His passion for photography culminated in the bestseller "Digital Art Photography for Dummies" (2005) and 11 additional books in the "101 Quick and Easy Secrets" series.

Today, Bamberg continues to engage with pressing local and national issues, writing for "The Desert Sun" and various social media platforms, where he combines his storytelling and visual art talents. In 2023, he was honored with the Delphi Award for his outstanding contributions to critical thinking and pedagogy, recognizing his long-standing role as a part-time professor of education at National University.