O'Gara is Guest Writer at UW English Department |
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Feb. 5, 2003 -- Journalist, television producer and non-fiction writer Geoff O'Gara is the 10th teaching writer visiting the University of Wyoming Department of English.
O'Gara will teach two nonfiction courses on the Laramie campus and one in Casper. He will focus on encouraging his students to grapple with clichés about western writing and helping them understand non-fiction writing involves more than "just getting the facts across."
A California native, O'Gara worked as investigative reporter in places such as Washington D.C. before he and his wife, Berthenia, began to look for a mountainous home and a safe place to raise their children. When an opportunity appeared in Lander, O'Gara applied and got the job as the managing editor of the High Country News.
O'Gara in 1990 wrote "A Long Road Home: Journeys through America's Present in Search of America's Past," a memoir and travelogue of his recorded exploration of remote corners of the United States. "What You See in Clear Water," released in 2000, is an investigative account of contemporary battles over water issues between American Indians and others in Fremont County. Currently, O'Gara works on a weekly syndicated column for the Casper-Star Tribune, "Due West," with Colorado writer and friend Dan Whipple.
His other projects include finishing a collection of novellas, producing a video documentary on the recent Wyoming gubernatorial election and contemplating ideas for his next big book -- a biography of a "well-known Wyoming political figure."
O'Gara continues to live in Lander with his wife, who provides legal counsel for the Wind River tribes. They have three adult children, Genya, Rosaleen and Nicholas. Posted on Wednesday, February 05, 2003
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