Kim Barnes
Encyclopedia
Kim Barnes is a contemporary American author of fiction, memoir, and personal essays.
in the Clearwater National Forest
, where her father worked as a lumberjack
. For the next twelve years, she and her family lived in the small communities and cedar camps of northern Idaho
Pierce
, Headquarters
, and a number of places along the North Fork of the Clearwater River
. In 1970, the family moved to Lewiston, Idaho, where Barnes graduated from Lewiston High School
in 1976.
Barnes received her BA
in English from Lewis-Clark State College
in 1983, her MA
in English
from Washington State University
in 1985, and her MFA
in Creative Writing
from the University of Montana in 1995.
Barnes teaches creative writing
at the University of Idaho
, and lives with her husband, the poet Robert Wrigley
, on Moscow Mountain in Idaho
. They have three children.
The subject matter of Barnes's creative work includes the American West, religious fundamentalism, women's issues, logging, and the environment. In A Country Called Home, one of her main characters has the condition known as synesthesia and sees color when she hears music.
Her work has appeared widely in anthologies and journals, including The Georgia Review
, Shenandoah
, MORE Magazine, and the Pushcart Prize
anthology.
/Jerard fellowship given to an emerging woman writer of nonfiction. In 1997, she was honored with a Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Award
for In the Wilderness, which was also a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize
, and the Quality Paperback Book Club's New Visions Award.
From 2004-2007, she served as Idaho Writer-in-Residence.
Life
She returned with her mother to their logging camp on Orofino CreekOrofino, Idaho
Orofino is a city in Clearwater County, Idaho, along Orofino Creek and the north bank of the Clearwater River. The population was 3,247 at the 2000 census, and the city is the county seat of Clearwater County...
in the Clearwater National Forest
Clearwater National Forest
Clearwater National Forest is located in North Central Idaho in the northwestern United States. The forest is bounded on the east by the state of Montana, on the north by the Idaho Panhandle National Forest, and on the south and west by the Nez Perce National Forest and Palouse Prairie.]The forest...
, where her father worked as a lumberjack
Lumberjack
A lumberjack is a worker in the logging industry who performs the initial harvesting and transport of trees for ultimate processing into forest products. The term usually refers to a bygone era when hand tools were used in harvesting trees principally from virgin forest...
. For the next twelve years, she and her family lived in the small communities and cedar camps of northern Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
Pierce
Pierce, Idaho
Pierce is a city in Clearwater County, Idaho. Elias D. Pierce and Wilbur F. Bassett made the first discovery of gold in Idaho , on Orofino Creek in 1860, a mile north of Pierce....
, Headquarters
Headquarters, Idaho
Headquarters is an unincorporated community in Clearwater County, Idaho, United States. Headquarters is located on Idaho State Highway 11 north of Pierce....
, and a number of places along the North Fork of the Clearwater River
Clearwater River (Idaho)
The Clearwater River is a river in north central Idaho, which flows westward from the Bitterroot Mountains along the Idaho-Montana border, and joins the Snake River at Lewiston. In October 1805, the Lewis and Clark Expedition descended the Clearwater River in dugout canoes, putting in at "Canoe...
. In 1970, the family moved to Lewiston, Idaho, where Barnes graduated from Lewiston High School
Lewiston High School
Lewiston High School is a public high school in Lewiston, Maine. The school opened in 1850 and has occupied its current building since the mid-1970s. The school's enrollment for the 2007–08 school year was 1,446 students. The school's mascot is the Blue Devil and the colors are blue and white...
in 1976.
Barnes received her BA
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in English from Lewis-Clark State College
Lewis-Clark State College
Lewis–Clark State College is a public undergraduate college located in Lewiston, Idaho. It was founded in 1893, and has an annual enrollment of approximately 3,500 students. The college offers over 83 degrees and is well-known for its Criminal Justice, Education, Nursing, and Technical programs.-...
in 1983, her MA
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
in English
English studies
English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language , English linguistics English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language (including literatures from the U.K., U.S.,...
from Washington State University
Washington State University
Washington State University is a public research university based in Pullman, Washington, in the Palouse region of the Pacific Northwest. Founded in 1890, WSU is the state's original and largest land-grant university...
in 1985, and her MFA
Master of Fine Arts
A Master of Fine Arts is a graduate degree typically requiring 2–3 years of postgraduate study beyond the bachelor's degree , although the term of study will vary by country or by university. The MFA is usually awarded in visual arts, creative writing, filmmaking, dance, or theatre/performing arts...
in Creative Writing
Creative writing
Creative writing is considered to be any writing, fiction, poetry, or non-fiction, that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, and technical forms of literature. Works which fall into this category include novels, epics, short stories, and poems...
from the University of Montana in 1995.
Barnes teaches creative writing
Creative writing
Creative writing is considered to be any writing, fiction, poetry, or non-fiction, that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, and technical forms of literature. Works which fall into this category include novels, epics, short stories, and poems...
at the University of Idaho
University of Idaho
The University of Idaho is the State of Idaho's flagship and oldest public university, located in the rural city of Moscow in Latah County in the northern portion of the state...
, and lives with her husband, the poet Robert Wrigley
Robert Wrigley
Robert Wrigley is an American poet and educator.His most recent book is Beautiful Country'. Other collections include Earthly Meditations: New and Selected Poems Lives of the Animals ; Reign of Snakes ; In the Bank of Beautiful Sins ; What My Father Believed ; Moon in a...
, on Moscow Mountain in Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
. They have three children.
The subject matter of Barnes's creative work includes the American West, religious fundamentalism, women's issues, logging, and the environment. In A Country Called Home, one of her main characters has the condition known as synesthesia and sees color when she hears music.
Her work has appeared widely in anthologies and journals, including The Georgia Review
The Georgia Review
The Georgia Review is an award-winning, nationally respected literary journal founded in 1947 that includes poetry, art, fiction, essays and reviews. It won the National Magazine Award for Fiction in 1986 and the National Magazine Award for Essay in 2007...
, Shenandoah
Shenandoah (magazine)
Shenandoah: The Washington and Lee Review is a major literary magazine published by Washington and Lee University.- History :Originally a student-run quarterly, Shenandoah has evolved into a triannual literary journal edited by author R. T...
, MORE Magazine, and the Pushcart Prize
Pushcart Prize
The Pushcart Prize is an American literary prize by Pushcart Press that honors the best "poetry, short fiction, essays or literary whatnot" published in the small presses over the previous year. Magazine and small book press editors are invited to nominate up to 6 works they have featured....
anthology.
Awards
She is the recipient of two grants from the Idaho Commission on the Arts. In 1995, she was chosen to receive the PENInternational PEN
PEN International , the worldwide association of writers, was founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere....
/Jerard fellowship given to an emerging woman writer of nonfiction. In 1997, she was honored with a Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Award
Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Award
Since 1965, the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association, or PNBA, has presented annual awards to recognize excellence in writing from the American Pacific Northwest...
for In the Wilderness, which was also a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
, and the Quality Paperback Book Club's New Visions Award.
From 2004-2007, she served as Idaho Writer-in-Residence.
Memoirs
- In the Wilderness: Coming of Age in Unknown Country (Doubleday/AnchorRandom HouseRandom House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
, ISBN 978-0385478212) - Hungry for the World (VillardVillard-Places:France* Villard, Creuse* Villard, Haute-Savoie* Villard-Bonnot, in the Isère département* Villard-de-Lans, in the Isère département* Villard-d'Héry, in the Savoie département* Villard-Léger, in the Savoie département...
, 2000, ISBN 9780375502286
Editor
- Kim Barnes, Claire Davis, (eds) Kiss tomorrow Hello: Notes from the Midlife Underground by Twenty-Five Women Over Forty, Doubleday, 2006