Don Berry

Born in Redwood Falls, Minnesota, on January 23, 1932, he later made Oregon the emotional center of his work and identity. He attended Reed College in Portland, and became known as both a writer and an artist, with interests that stretched across painting, music, and Zen practice.

He is best known for three historical novels set during the earliest white settlements on the Oregon Coast: Trask (1960), Moontrap (1962), and To Build a Ship (1963). Moontrap was nominated for the National Book Award, and the trilogy earned lasting praise for its intense, original portrayal of frontier life and the moral strain of settlement.

In later years, he lived and worked in the Seattle area, especially on Vashon Island and Bainbridge Island, continuing a creative life that crossed many forms. He died on February 20, 2001, but remains an important voice in Northwestern literature, remembered for fiction that is both rugged and deeply reflective.