Bruce Berger
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, 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, 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", 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.