- Ken Lamberton
Ken Lamberton (born
November 8 ,1958 ) is an American writer and former teacher. Originally born inDuluth, Minnesota , Lamberton attended theUniversity of Arizona , where he received aBachelor of Science degree in biology and aMaster of Fine Arts in creative writing. He was working at as a science teacher inMesa, Arizona in 1985 when he was awarded aTeacher of the Year award. A few months later, the then 28-year-old Lamberton was arrested for child molestation for having an affair with a 14-year-old female student and transporting her across state lines. During his twelve year prison term at the Tucson Federal Correctional Institution, he participated in a prison creative writing program run by Richard Shelton and became a writer, penning essays for the prison magazine "La Roca".cite news |title=Law and nature's order: how swallows and saguaros gave a prisoner his freedom |last=Snell |first=Marilyn Berlin |work=Sierra |date=2002-11-01 |accessdate=2008-07-29 ] After his release in 2000, he began to publish non-fiction books and articles on natural history andcrime and punishment in the Southwest. [cite web |first=Lee |last=Allen |title=Outdoor Reminiscences |url=http://www.tucsonweekly.com/gbase/Books/Content?oid=oid:70981 |work=Tucson Weekly |date=2005-07-21 |accessdate=2008-07-28 ]Lamberton has published four books since 2000 and written hundreds of essays and articles. His first book, "Wilderness and Razor Wire: A Naturalist's Observations from Prison", received critical acclaim from the
San Francisco Chronicle which felt it was "....entirely original: an edgy, ferocious, subtly complex collection of essays...". [cite web |first=Mark |last=Slouka |title=Cell Biology |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2000/01/23/RV93747.DTL&hw=Lamberton&sn=001&sc=1000 |work=San Francisco Chronicle |date=2000-01-23 |accessdate=2008-07-28 ] It won the 2002John Burroughs Medal for nature writing. In 2007, Lamberton was awarded a Soros Justice Fellowship by theOpen Society Institute to complete his fourth book, "Time of Grace: Thoughts on Nature, Family, and the Politics of Crime and Punishment". [cite web |title=2007 Soros Justice Fellows |url=http://www.soros.org/initiatives/usprograms/focus/justice/news/justice_20070221/fellows |publisher=Open Society Institute |accessdate=2008-07-28 ]Among his other citations are an
Eric Hoffer Notable Book Award for memoir, an Arizona Book Award Finalist for best nature/environment book, two "Notable Essays" mentions in The Best American Essays] , twoPushcart Prize nominations, and aNational Book Award nomination.fact|date=July 2008Lamberton is the managing editor of "Walking Rain Review", a literary magazine of art, poetry, and prose created by the prison creative writing program of Richard Shelton.fact|date=July 2008
Bibliography
* "Wilderness and Razor Wire: A Naturalist's Observations from Prison". Mercury House:
San Francisco, California , 2000.
* "Beyond Desert Walls: Essays from Prison". Tuscon:University of Arizona Press , 2005.
* "Time of Grace: Thoughts on Nature, Family and the Politics of Crime and Punishment. Tuscon: University of Arizona Press, 2007.
* "Chiricahua Mountains: Bridging the Borders of Wildness". Photography by Jeff Garton. Tuscon: University of Arizona Press, 2003.References
External links
* [http://www.kenlamberton.com Ken Lamberton website]
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