Ann Haymond Zwinger (1925–2014) was the author of many natural histories noted for detail and lyrical prose.
Early life and education Ann Haymond Zwinger was born March 12, 1925, in Muncie, Indiana, the daughter of William and Ann Haymond. While young, she lived along the White River. She studied art history and was awarded two degrees, an A.B. in Arts in 1946 by Wellesley College with the designation "Wellesley College Scholar," now considered roughly equivalent to "cum laude," and an A.M. in Fine Arts by Indiana University in 1950. She married Herman H. Zwinger, a pilot, in 1952.
Career In 1960, Zwinger moved to Colorado Springs with her husband and began to study Western ecology. In 1970, her first book was published, Beyond the Aspen Grove. She and co-author Beatrice Willard were finalists for the 1973 National Book Award in science for Land Above the Trees. Run, River, Run was another distinguished book published in 1975. It received glowing reviews by The New York Times, the John Burroughs Memorial Association Gold Medal for a distinguished contribution in natural history, and the Friends of American Writers Award for non-fiction. Her more than 20 books on natural history often featured her own illustrations.
She taught Southwest Studies and English at Colorado College.
Death Zwinger died in Portland, Oregon on August 30, 2014.
Bibliography Beyond the Aspen Grove, 1970 Land Above the Trees: A Guide to American Alpine Tundra, 1972 Run, River, Run: A Naturalist's Journey Down One of the Great Rivers of the West, 1975 Wind in the Rock: The Canyonlands of Southeastern Utah, 1978 A Conscious Stillness: Two Naturalists on Thoreau's Rivers, 1982 A Desert Country near the Sea: A Natural History of the Cape Region of Baja California, 1983 John Xantus: The Fort Tejon Letters, 1857-1859 (editor), 1986 The Mysterious Lands: A Naturalist Explores the Four Great Deserts of the Southwest, 1989 Aspen: Blazon of the High Country, 1991 Writing the Western Landscape, 1994 Downcanyon: A Naturalist Explores the Colorado River Through Grand Canyon, 1995 Women in Wilderness: Writings and Photographs, 1995 The Nearsighted Naturalist, 1998 Nature's Fading Chorus: Classic And Contemporary Writings On Amphibians, 2000 Shaped by Wind and Water: Reflections of a Naturalist, 2000 Spanish Peaks: Land and Legends, 2001 Fall Colors Across North America, 2001 Yosemite: Valley of Thunder, 2002 Grand Canyon: Little Things in a Big Place, 2006 Introduction to The Sea Around Us by Rachel Carson, 1979 Foreword to The Forgotten Peninsula by Joseph Wood Krutch, 1986 e. Foreword to The Naturalist's Path; Beginning the Study of Nature, by Cathy Johnson, 1987, 1991 Foreword to On Becoming Lost; A Naturalist's Search for Meaning, by Cathy Johnson, 1990 Introduction to The Walker's Companion by Bill and Margaret Forbes, illustrated in part by Cathy Johnson, et al., 1995 Introduction to Into the Field: A Guide to Locally Focused Teaching by Clare Walker Leslie, 1999 Epilogue to Nature's Fading Chorus: Classic and Contemporary Writings on Amphibians by Gordon L. Miller (editor), 2000 Foreword to Profitably Soaked by Robert Lawrence France, 2003 Foreword to River And Desert Plants of the Grand Canyon by Kristin Huisinga, 2006 Foreword to America: A Photographic Journey by Suzan Hall, Fred Hirschmann, 2007
References
Wild, Peter (1993). Ann Zwinger. Boise, Idaho: Boise State University "Western Writers Series" (#111). pp. 51.
External links Our Land, Our Literature Bookfest