Peter Matthiessen - Research Proposal Example

Peter Matthiessen Introduction One of the most natural and living legends in the field of writing is Peter Matthiessen, who has been deemed a great novelist and Zen priest of the nineteenth century. Over fifty years, fiction and nonfiction topics have been written by Matthiessen in his twenty books. In the year 1965, At Play in the Fields of the Lord was one of his masterly fictions that provided him a recognized position. (Dowie, pp. 40-41) Similarly, in the year 1991, he wrote Killing Mister Watson that came out to be one of the best thrillers with a moral that talked about South American missionaries.

(Commire, pp. 27-28) Other than fiction, he has proved to be a master with his nonfiction writings. For instance, the 1975 shootout of FBI and Native Americans were examined in the year 1983 by Matthiessen in his book, In the Spirit of Crazy Horse. (McKay, pp. 28-30)However, Peter Matthiessen acquired a more natural place for himself in midst of other novelists through his travel writing that renounced him as a complete advocate of natural world. (Bonetti, pp. 35-37) In the year 1978, endangered creatures and spiritual development was lyrically analyzed by him through his book, In the Snow Leopard that provided him with the National Book Award.

(Howard, pp. 56-58) In the year 1991, his African Silences explained his trekking experiences in African and Antarctica regions, which was followed by his another book, End of the Earth in the year 2003 that recounted the same experiences. In addition, the protection of majestic cranes and ecosystem of the earth was encouraged by his book, the Birds of Heaven in the year 2001. Until now, the paper has briefly discussed some of his renowned books that have recognized him as a living legend. (Kibler, pp. 92-93) Peter Matthiessen has also completed documentaries on different films, one of which is Blue Water, White Death that was a film related to the natural world, one of his favorite themes.

(Nicholas, pp. 17-18) One of the major characteristics of Peter Matthiessen is his scrupulous and thorough approach to the topics that are considered during his writings. American Indian issues and natural history are some of his frequently focused topics since fifty years. Now, the paper will discuss his personal life and career, which will be followed by a brief conclusion.Personal Life & CareerOn May 22, 1927, an American naturalist and living legend was born in New York City that was named Peter Matthiessen by his parents.

Peter Matthiessen is credited for more than twenty non-fictional and fictional books, and has been one of the founders of the Paris Review. For two years since the year 1995, Peter Matthiessen served as the official State Author of the New York City, which is one of his major achievements since he started writing fifty years ago. (Magill, pp. 43-46) Peter Matthiessen has four kids, and now lives a lonely life, as his wife was diagnosed with cancer and died in the year 1972. (Miller, pp. 50-51) Peter has also been on a number of Himalayan expeditions during his lifetime, as it was his one of the favorite spots due to his influence from Zen Buddhism, and his expeditions have been one of the major reasons of his insight into the natural world.

Nowadays, Sagaponack, New York is his residential place, and he serves as a Buddhist priest at the White Plum Asanga.ConclusionFor fifty years, two generations of writers, as well as, readers have been inspired and influenced by the fictional and non-fictional writings of Peter Matthiessen. Some of his renowned writings are ‘Lighting the Fuse’, ‘Killing Mr. Watson’, ‘The Snow Leopard, ‘In the Spirit of Crazy Horse’, etc. (Karolides, pp. 20-22) He has won a number of awards like the National Book Award, Laureate of the Globe Honor Roll of the United National Environment Programme, and Lannan Literary Award for Lifetime Achievement.

It is hoped that the paper will be beneficial for the students, teachers, experts, and nonprofessionals in better understanding of the life of Peter Matthiessen.Works Cited Anne Commire. Something about the Author. Gale, 2004. Frank Northen Magill. Cyclopedia of World Authors. Salem Press, 2005. James Kibler. American Novelists since World War II – Second Series. Jr. Gale Research Company, 1980. Jenkins McKay. The Peter Matthiessen Reader. Vintage Books, 2000. Kay Bonetti. Conversations with American Novelists.

University of Missouri Press, 1997. Laura Miller. The Salon.com Readers Guide to Contemporary Authors. Greenwood Publishing, 2003. Nicholas J. Karolides. Literature Suppressed on Political Grounds. Facts on File, 2006. Norman Howard. Killing Mister Watson. Springer, 2001. William Dowie. Peter Matthiessen. Twayne, 1991. William J. Nicholas. Peter Matthiessen – an Annotated Bibliography. Salem Press, 2000.Word Count: 646 WordsChecked by Copyscape.com & Turnitin.com