Peter Matthiessen

Peter Matthiessen (May 22, 1927 – April 5, 2014) was an American novelist, naturalist, explorer, and Zen Buddhist priest whose writings chronicled expeditions into remote wilderness areas and intertwined observations of ecology, indigenous cultures, and spiritual inquiry. Matthiessen co-founded The Paris Review in 1953 while working undercover as a CIA operative in Paris, a role he later acknowledged served patriotic aims during the early Cold War but which he abandoned upon returning to the United States. His nonfiction masterpiece The Snow Leopard (1978), recounting a 1973 trek through the Himalayas in search of the elusive snow leopard alongside biologist George Schaller, earned the National Book Award for Contemporary Thought in 1980 and remains a seminal work blending travelogue, natural history, and personal bereavement following his wife's death from cancer. In fiction, Matthiessen achieved rare distinction as the only author to win the National Book Award in both categories, receiving it for the revised trilogy Shadow Country (2008), a historical novel drawn from the life of Florida outlaw Edgar Watson that delved into themes of violence, environment, and human ambition in the Everglades. Throughout his career, spanning over three dozen books, Matthiessen advocated for environmental conservation and Native American rights, often drawing from firsthand fieldwork that exposed him to endangered species and marginalized communities, though his engagements occasionally sparked legal disputes, such as libel suits over depictions in In the Spirit of Crazy Horse (1983).

Peter Matthiessen was born on May 22, 1927, in Manhattan , New York City . He was the second of three children born to Erard Adolph Matthiessen, an architect, and Elizabeth Matthiessen (née Carey).

The Matthiessen family traced its roots to Scandinavian whalers from Friesland , with one ancestor referenced in Herman Melville's Moby-Dick . Erard Matthiessen established a successful architectural practice in New York, providing the family with an affluent upbringing in a residence overlooking Central Park . During World War II , Erard served in the U.S. Navy, reflecting the family's patriotic engagements amid broader national events.

Matthiessen attended St. Bernard's School in Manhattan during his early years, followed by Greenwich Country Day School in Connecticut . He later enrolled at the Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, Connecticut , a prestigious preparatory institution where he graduated despite a reputation as a less-than-model student prone to disciplinary issues.

Following his graduation from Hotchkiss in 1945, Matthiessen briefly served in the U.S. Navy until 1947, stationed in Hawaii. He then pursued higher education at Yale University, earning a bachelor's degree in English in 1950; during his junior year, he studied at the Sorbonne in Paris. At Yale, he supplemented his English major with courses in biology and ornithology, which aligned with his budding interests.

Matthiessen's early influences stemmed from his privileged upbringing in a family tied to nature conservation ; his father , an architect , served as a spokesman for the Audubon Society, exposing him to ornithology and environmental awareness from childhood. Time spent in rural New York and Connecticut during his youth further nurtured a lifelong affinity for wilderness and wildlife observation , evident in his later naturalist writings. These experiences, combined with academic pursuits in literature and science, prompted him to begin writing short stories while in college, laying the groundwork for his literary career.

In 1951, Peter Matthiessen and Harold L. "Doc" Humes began conceiving The Paris Review during conversations in Paris, aiming to create a literary quarterly focused on new fiction and poetry amid the expatriate scene.