Barry Lopez is an essayist, author, and short-story writer and has traveled extensively in both remote and populated parts of the world. He is the author of Arctic Dreams, for which he received the National Book Award; Of Wolves and Men, a National Book Award finalist for which he received the John Burroughs and Christopher medals; and eight works of fiction, including Light Action in the Caribbean, Field Notes, and Resistance. His essays are collected in two books, Crossing Open Ground and About This Life. He contributes regularly to Granta, the Georgia Review, Orion, Outside, the Paris Review, Manoa, and other publications. His work has appeared in dozens of anthologies, including Best American Essays, Best Spiritual Writing, and the "best" collections from National Geographic, Outside, the Georgia Review, the Paris Review, and other periodicals. Lopez lives in western Oregon.