Frank Bergon facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Frank Bergon
Frank Bergon in West Tisbury, 2019

Frank Bergon (born in 1943) is an American writer. His books, essays, and other writings mostly focus on the American West. He explores its history, people, and environment.

About Frank Bergon

Frank Bergon was born in Ely, Nevada. He grew up on a ranch in Madera County, California. This area is part of California's San Joaquin Valley. He went to elementary school in Madera and high school in San Jose.

He later studied English at Boston College. He also attended Stanford University as a special writing fellow. He earned his Ph.D. in English and American Literature from Harvard University.

His Writing Journey

Frank Bergon has written many books. These include four novels and several collections of essays. He has also edited other writers' works. A big part of his writing explores the lives of Basque Americans in the West. He also writes about Native American cultures. This includes the Shoshone people of Nevada and the Maya people of Mexico.

His "Nevada trilogy" is a series of three novels. These books cover a century of Nevada's history. They tell stories from a historical event in 1911 involving the Shoshone. They also touch on environmental challenges like nuclear waste in the desert.

Bergon's "California trilogy" focuses on the San Joaquin Valley. These books explore his own family background. His family has Basque-Béarnais roots. This series also looks at the lives of people in California today. These are the descendants of the "Okies" from Steinbeck's famous book, The Grapes of Wrath. One of his books, Jesse's Ghost, was named a "Best Book About California" in 2024.

He also writes about nature and the environment. An example is his work on The Journals of Lewis and Clark. These journals describe the famous expedition across America.

Frank Bergon has also worked with his wife, Holly St. John Bergon. They have translated poems by Spanish writers. These translations have appeared in different poetry collections.

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. This means he is a retired professor who is still honored by the college.

In 1998, Frank Bergon was recognized for his writing. He was inducted into the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame. In 2024, he was also included in the Bellarmine Hall of Fame.

Frank Bergon's Books

Here are some of the books Frank Bergon has written or edited:

• 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 also written many essays. These are shorter pieces of writing.

• His essay Guns and Grammar, or How to Read the Second Amendment talks about how laws are interpreted. It humorously discusses how a certain reading of the Second Amendment has affected gun laws in the U.S.
• Another essay, I Understand Thee, and Can Speak Thy Tongue: California Unlocks Shakespeare's Gibberish, explores a link. It suggests that some parts of Shakespeare's writing, once thought to be nonsense, might be connected to the Basque language.