Bernard DeVoto was the first Pulitzer Prize winner from Utah. DeVoto was a prominent writer on many issues, from the American West to Mark Twain to conservation of the natural environment. Wallace Stegner called him “Utah’s most prominent writer,” yet he is largely forgotten in Utah and in his hometown of Ogden.
This year marks the 125th anniversary of his birth, and a Bernard DeVoto Commemoration Committee has been formed to “raise public awareness of the enormous contributions DeVoto has made to American letters, to the conservation of western lands and resources, and to the history of the American West.”
Today we’ll discuss the life and works of Bernard DeVoto, with David Rich Lewis, Utah State University Emeritus Professor of History; and Russell Burrows, Associate Professor of English at Weber State University, specializing in American Literature.
