Frank Bergon facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Frank Bergon
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Frank Bergon in West Tisbury, 2019
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Frank Bergon (born in 1943) is an American writer. He is known for his novels, essays, and literary studies. His work mainly focuses on the American West.
Contents
About Frank Bergon
Frank Bergon was born in Ely, Nevada. He grew up on a ranch in Madera County, California. This area is in California's San Joaquin Valley.
He went to elementary school in Madera. Later, he attended high school in San Jose. He then studied English at Boston College. He was a special writing student at Stanford University. He earned his Ph.D. in English and American Literature from Harvard University.
His Writing Career
Frank Bergon has written many books. These include four novels and several collections of essays. He has also edited other books.
A big part of his writing explores the lives of Basque Americans in the West. He also writes about Native American groups. These include the Shoshone people in Nevada. He has also written about the Maya people in Chiapas, Mexico.
Nevada Stories
Bergon has a series of three novels called the "Nevada trilogy." These books cover a century of Nevada history.
- Shoshone Mike is about events from 1911.
- Wild Game tells a story involving a mountain man and wildlife officers.
- The Temptations of St. Ed & Brother S looks at current issues. It explores the debate over nuclear waste in the Nevada desert.
California Stories
His "California trilogy" focuses on the San Joaquin Valley. These books explore his family's Basque-Béarnais background.
- Jesse's Ghost
- Two-Buck Chuck & The Marlboro Man: The New Old West
- The Toughest Kid We Knew: The Old New West: A Personal History
These books also highlight people living in California today. This includes the descendants of families like those in John Steinbeck's famous book, The Grapes of Wrath. In 2024, Jesse's Ghost was named one of The New York Times' "Best Books About California."
Other Writings
Frank Bergon also writes about nature and the environment. His work includes both fiction and non-fiction. An example is his edited version of The Journals of Lewis and Clark.
With his wife, Holly St. John Bergon, he has translated poems. They have translated works by Spanish poets. These translations appeared in books like New European Poets.
Teaching and Awards
Bergon taught at the University of Washington. For many years, he was a professor at Vassar College. He is now a Professor Emeritus of English there.
In 1998, Frank Bergon was honored. He was inducted into the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame. In 2024, he was also added to the Bellarmine Hall of Fame.
Books by Frank Bergon
- The Toughest Kid We Knew: The Old New West: A Personal History (2020)
- Two-Buck Chuck & The Marlboro Man: The New Old West (2019)
- Jesse's Ghost (2011)
- Wild Game (1995)
- The Temptations of St. Ed & Brother S (1993)
- The Journals of Lewis and Clark, editor (1989)
- Shoshone Mike (1987)
- A Sharp Lookout: Selected Nature Essays of John Burroughs, editor (1987)
- The Wilderness Reader, editor (1980)
- The Western Writings of Stephen Crane, editor (1979)
- Looking Far West: The Search for the American West in History, Myth, and Literature, coeditor with Zeese Papanikolas (1978)
- Stephen Crane's Artistry (1975)
Essays and Articles
Frank Bergon has written several interesting essays.
Guns and Grammar
His essay Guns and Grammar, or How to Read the Second Amendment was published in The Los Angeles Review of Books. In this essay, he humorously argues that a certain way of reading the Second Amendment has led to important discussions about U.S. gun laws.
Shakespeare and Language
Another essay, I Understand Thee, and Can Speak Thy Tongue: California Unlocks Shakespeare's Gibberish, also appeared in the Los Angeles Review of Books. This article suggests a link between parts of Shakespeare's language and the Basque language.
