Barry Lopez

Barry Lopez (born January 6, 1945, Port Chester, New York, U.S.—died December 25, 2020, Eugene, Oregon) was an American writer best known for his books on natural history and the environment. In such works as Of Wolves and Men (1978) and Arctic Dreams: Imagination and Desire in a Northern Landscape (1986; National Book Award), Lopez employed natural history as a metaphor for wider moral issues.

After graduating from the University of Notre Dame (B.A., 1966; M.A.T., 1968), Lopez briefly attended the University of Oregon before leaving to become a full-time writer. In 1977 Lopez’s collection of Native American trickster stories, Giving Birth to Thunder, Sleeping with His Daughter: Coyote Builds North America, was published. He followed this volume with the critically acclaimed Of Wolves and Men, which includes scientific information, folklore, and essays on the wolf’s role in human culture.

Lopez also wrote such fictional narratives as Desert Notes: Reflections in the Eye of a Raven (1976) and River Notes: The Dance of Herons (1979). Among his short-story volumes were Winter Count (1981), Light Action in the Caribbean (2000), and Outside (2014). Other notable works included the essay collections Crossing Open Ground (1988), About This Life (1998), and Embrace Fearlessly the Burning World (2022), the latter of which was published posthumously. In Horizon (2019) Lopez recounted his various travels. In addition, he authored books for young adults on natural history.