Collection context
Summary
- Title:
- Bruce Berger Papers
- Dates:
- 1968-2015
- Creators:
- Berger, Bruce
- Abstract:
- Papers of Bruce Berger, a nonfiction writer and poet, which document his travel and research in Baja, California from the late 1960s through 2015.
- Extent:
- 2 Linear feet (4 archives boxes, 1 card file box) and .108 GB of digital files
- Language:
- English
- Preferred citation:
-
Bruce Berger Papers. MSS 783. Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
Papers of Bruce Berger, a nonfiction writer and poet, which document his travel and research in Baja, California from the late 1960s through 2015. The collection consists primarily of short works such as typewritten journal entries and essays, supplemental research materials (clippings, reports and pamphlets), and a selection of manuscripts from Berger's books Almost an Island (1998), Sierra, Sea and Desert: El VizcaÃno (1998), and La Giganta y Guadalupe (2010). The collection contains audiocassettes that record interviews conducted by Berger. Some of the material, particularly the supplemental materials, are in Spanish.
Arranged in four series: 1) SHORT WORKS AND SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL, 2) BOOK EXCERPTS AND ESSAYS, 3) NOTEBOOKS and 4) AUDIOCASSETTES.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Bruce Nicolas Berger was born in 1938 in Evanston, Illinois. He earned his bachelor's degree in English from Yale in 1961. Berger pursued graduate work at the University of California, Berkeley, but did not receive a degree. Instead, he settled in Francoist Spain from 1965 to 1967, learning Spanish and playing the piano to earn an income. In 1968, he made his first journey to Baja California. Over the next fifty years, he would reside alternatively between Baja and his home in Aspen, Colorado.
Berger has published over a dozen books, many of which consider themes of "the intersections of nature and culture, usually in desert settings" (bruceberger.net). His essays and poetry have appeared in publications such as New Letters and Orion Magazine. He was the recipient of the 1990 Western States Book Award for Creative Nonfiction, the 2006 Colorado Authors' League Award for Specialty Writing, and the 2014 Independent Publisher Book Award's Silver Medal for the Most Outstanding Nonfiction Book of the Year (for The End of the Sherry).
- Acquisition information:
- Acquired 2015, 2017.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
About this collection guide
- Date Encoded:
- This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2020-01-14 15:49:40 -0800 .
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Original audiocassette recordings are restricted for preservation. Researchers may request listening copies in advance of their visit.
- Terms of access:
-
Publication rights are held by the creator of the collection.
- Preferred citation:
-
Bruce Berger Papers. MSS 783. Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego.
- Location of this collection:
-
9500 Gilman Drive, Dept. 0175La Jolla, CA 92093-0175, US
- Contact:
- (858) 534-2533