The only writer to win National Book Awards for both fiction and nonfiction
In short: Peter Matthiessen led a life of startling contradictions. He was a CIA operative who helped found The Paris Review as a front, a Zen priest who pioneered LSD use, and a literary titan. He remains the sole author to claim National Book Awards in both fiction and nonfiction categories.
Born in 1927 to a well-to-do family, Matthiessen’s early life was defined by a deep curiosity about the natural world. After serving in the Navy and graduating from Yale, he moved to Paris in the 1950s. There, he helped establish The Paris Review, later revealing that the magazine served as a cover for his clandestine work with the Central Intelligence Agency. This period of his life, marked by international travel and expatriate circles, eventually gave way to a prolific career as a novelist and environmental chronicler.
Matthiessen’s literary output was vast and varied. He gained acclaim for his nature writing, such as the 1959 book Wildlife in America, which examined the history of species extinction. His fiction, including the 1965 novel At Play in the Fields of the Lord, often explored complex encounters between disparate cultures. Perhaps his most ambitious project was Shadow Country, a 2008 single-volume revision of his earlier Florida frontier trilogy. This work earned him the National Book Award for Fiction, cementing his unique status as a dual-category winner, having previously won for his 1978 Himalayan travelogue, The Snow Leopard.
Beyond his writing, Matthiessen was a dedicated activist and spiritual seeker. He became a Zen priest in 1984 and viewed his earlier experiences with LSD as a precursor to his Buddhist practice. His commitment to social justice was equally intense; his 1983 book investigating the conviction of activist Leonard Peltier sparked years of intense litigation. Despite being sued for millions by a former FBI agent and a South Dakota governor, he ultimately prevailed in court. Matthiessen continued to write until his death in 2014, leaving behind a legacy that bridged the gap between the wild, the spiritual, and the political.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: Peter Matthiessen
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