Gretel Ehrlich
Encyclopedia
Gretel Ehrlich is an American
travel writer, poet, and essay
ist.
Born in 1946 in Santa Barbara, California
, she studied at Bennington College
and UCLA film school. She began to write full time in 1978, living on a Wyoming ranch, after the death of a loved one. Ehrlich debuted in 1985 with The Solace of Open Spaces, a collection of essays on rural life in Wyoming. Her first novel, also set in Wyoming, was Heart Mountain (1988), about a community being invaded by an internment camp for Japanese Americans.
One of Ehrlich's most beloved books is a volume of creative nonfiction essays called Islands, The Universe, Home.
Her characteristic style of merging intense, vivid factual observations of nature with a wryly mystical personal voice is evident in this text. Other books include This Cold Heaven: Seven Seasons in Greenland and two volumes of poetry.
In 1991 Ehrlich was hit by lightning. She was incapacitated for several years, and she wrote a book about the experience, A Match to the Heart, which was published in 1994. Since 1993, she has traveled extensively, especially through Greenland
and western China
.
Her work is frequently anthologised, including The Nature Reader. She has received many grants and created a ballet
for the South Bank Theatre in London
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
travel writer, poet, and essay
Essay
An essay is a piece of writing which is often written from an author's personal point of view. Essays can consist of a number of elements, including: literary criticism, political manifestos, learned arguments, observations of daily life, recollections, and reflections of the author. The definition...
ist.
Born in 1946 in Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
, she studied at Bennington College
Bennington College
Bennington College is a liberal arts college located in Bennington, Vermont, USA. The college was founded in 1932 as a women's college and became co-educational in 1969.-History:-Early years:...
and UCLA film school. She began to write full time in 1978, living on a Wyoming ranch, after the death of a loved one. Ehrlich debuted in 1985 with The Solace of Open Spaces, a collection of essays on rural life in Wyoming. Her first novel, also set in Wyoming, was Heart Mountain (1988), about a community being invaded by an internment camp for Japanese Americans.
One of Ehrlich's most beloved books is a volume of creative nonfiction essays called Islands, The Universe, Home.
Her characteristic style of merging intense, vivid factual observations of nature with a wryly mystical personal voice is evident in this text. Other books include This Cold Heaven: Seven Seasons in Greenland and two volumes of poetry.
In 1991 Ehrlich was hit by lightning. She was incapacitated for several years, and she wrote a book about the experience, A Match to the Heart, which was published in 1994. Since 1993, she has traveled extensively, especially through Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
and western China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
.
Her work is frequently anthologised, including The Nature Reader. She has received many grants and created a ballet
Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
for the South Bank Theatre in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
Selected bibliography
- To Touch the Water, Ahsahta Press, 1981, ISBN 978-0-916272-16-6
- The Solace of Open Spaces, Viking Press, 1985, ISBN 978-0670806782
- Heart Mountain, Viking Press, 1988, ISBN 978-0670821600
- Drinking Dry Clouds: Stories from Wyoming, Capra Press, 1991, ISBN 978-0884963158
- Islands, the Universe, Home, Viking Press, 1991, ISBN 978-0670821617
- Arctic Heart: A Poem Cycle, Capra Press, 1992, ISBN 978-0884963578
- A Match to the Heart: One Woman's Story of Being Struck by Lightning, Pantheon Books, 1994, ISBN 978-0679425502
- John Muir: Nature's Visionary,National Geographic Society, 2000, ISBN 978-0792279549
- This Cold Heaven: Seven Seasons in Greenland, Pantheon Books, 2001, ISBN 978-0679442004
- The Future of Ice: A Journey Into Cold, Pantheon Books, 2004, ISBN 978-0375422515
- In the Empire of Ice: Encounters in a Changing Landscape, National Geographic Society, 2010, ISBN 978-1426205743