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Terry Tempest Williams

テリー・テンペスト・ウィリアムズ

Terry Tempest Williams

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1955-09-08 （Corona, California, U.S.）
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Religion
Mormonism (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) — explored/engaged
Residence History
Salt Lake City, Utah → Castle Valley, Utah → Cambridge, Massachusetts

Career

Occupations
Writer, Educator, Conservationist, Activist
Active Years
1985-
Affiliations
Governing Council of The Wilderness Society, National Parks and Conservation Association (advisory board), Center for Biological Diversity (board member), Round River Conservation Studies (board member), The Nature Conservancy — Utah Chapter, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, Thoreau Society (honorary advisor), American Academy of Arts and Letters (member)
Memberships
The Wilderness Society (former governing council), Center for Biological Diversity (board member), American Academy of Arts and Letters (member)

Education

University of Utah
English (minor: Biology)
Degree: BA
Period: 1974–1978
Year of Graduation: 1978
Country: United States
Major in English with a minor in Biology
University of Utah
Environmental Education
Degree: MSc
Period: 1982–1984
Year of Graduation: 1984
Country: United States
Master of Science in Environmental Education

Awards

Evans Biography Award
1991
Work: Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place
Organization: Mountain West Center for Regional Studies (Utah State University)
Result: 受賞
Reading the West Book Award (Creative Nonfiction)
1992
Work: Refuge
Category: Creative Nonfiction
Organization: Mountain & Plains Booksellers
Result: 受賞
National Wildlife Federation Conservation Award (Special Achievement)
1993
Organization: National Wildlife Federation
Result: 受賞
Wallace Stegner Award
2005
Organization: Center for the American West
Result: 受賞
Sierra Club John Muir Award
2014
Organization: Sierra Club
Result: 受賞
Robert Kirsch Award
2019
Organization: Robert Kirsch Award
Result: 受賞
Lannan Literary Fellowship (Creative Nonfiction)
Organization: Lannan Foundation
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place

1991 Memoir / Creative Nonfiction

Interweaves family cancer histories, natural history of Utah, and personal reflections on loss and place. Notable for its epilogue exploring possible links between nuclear testing and cancer in her family.

NatureFamilyIllness and griefSense of placeEnvironmental justice

Leap

2000 Creative Nonfiction / Essays

A collection of essays reflecting on change, risk, and the interplay of personal experience with landscape, including considerations of Utah's environment and civic life.

ChangeRisk and courageRelationship to land

The Hour of Land: A Personal Topography of America's National Parks

2015 Nonfiction / Natural history

Essays that traverse America's national parks to explore conservation, public memory, and personal encounters, examining parks' histories and cultural significance.

National parksConservationPublic memory

Finding Beauty In A Broken World

2008 Essay / Nonfiction

An essay collection about finding beauty and hope amid turmoil, focusing on intersections of nature and spirituality.

HealingSpiritualityDialogue with nature

When Women Were Birds: Fifty-four Variations on Voice

2012 Essays / Memoir

A personal inquiry into voice, expression, and women's histories, told through letters and fragmented reflections.

WomanhoodVoiceMemory

Erosion

2019 Essays / Environmental criticism

A collection of essays addressing the erosion of environmental, cultural, and political boundaries, and transformations in land-human relationships.

ErosionCulture and environmentPolitics

Bibliography

  • The Secret Language of Snow
  • Pieces of White Shell: A Journey to Navajoland
  • Between Cattails
  • Coyote's Canyon
  • Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place
  • Leap
  • Red: Passion and Patience in the Desert
  • Finding Beauty In A Broken World
  • When Women Were Birds: Fifty-four Variations on Voice
  • The Hour of Land: A Personal Topography of America's National Parks
  • Erosion
  • The Moon Is Behind Us

Adaptations

  • Featured in PBS documentary series (appearances)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Lyrical essayCreative nonfictionBlend of natural history and personal memoir
Recurring Motifs
Arid/Western landscapesFamily and lossIntersection of nature and spiritualityEnvironmental justice

Legacy

Terry Tempest Williams is known for lyrical nonfiction rooted in Utah and the American West. Her writing and activism on conservation and women's health have influenced public discourse and contributed to debates over public lands and national park protection.

Academic Societies

  • American Academy of Arts and Letters (member)

Archives

  • Yale Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library (Terry Tempest Williams Papers)

In Popular Culture

  • Featured in PBS documentary series (The West; The National Parks: America's Best Idea)

Quotes

  • "Teaching helped me find my voice."
    Source: Writings / Interviews
  • "This made a difference." (President Bill Clinton, holding the book)
    Source: 1996 dedication of Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument (1996)

Trivia

  • In 2016 she legally purchased oil and gas leases in Utah to keep the land from development as part of the Keep It in the Ground movement.
  • Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2019.
  • Married Brooke Williams in 1975 and has long been based in Castle Valley, Utah.