<description>&lt;p&gt;Peter Matthiessen is a towering figure of twentieth-century American letters, and the only writer to win the National Book Award in both fiction and nonfiction.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;He’s also a difficult man to pin down because he accomplished so much in so many different areas.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;He co-founded The Paris Review and spied for the CIA. He was best known for 'nature' books like The Snow Leopard, but thought of himself as a novelist. He was also a spiritual seeker who reached the highest ranks of Zen Buddhism. How do you come to grips with a life as varied as this?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I'm joined by biographer Lance Richardson, the author of True Nature: The Pilgrimage of Peter Matthiessen.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;We spoke about Matthiessen’s privileged background, his life-changing journey to Nepal, his serial womanizing, and his greatest books.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Personal Landscapes relies on the support of listeners like you to keep going. Please consider joining my Member's Club on Substack &lt;a target="_blank" href="https://www.personallandscapespodcast.com/p/start-here"&gt;https://www.personallandscapespodcast.com/p/start-here&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;You’ll be supporting an independent ad-free podcast that publishes carefully curated conversations like this one, backed by decades of reading.Find me on: &lt;a target="_blank" href="https://www.instagram.com/ryanmurdock.writer/"&gt;Instagram&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/@RyanMurdockRoadWisdom"&gt;YouTube&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/roadwisdom"&gt;X&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Follow my travels — and buy my books — on &lt;a target="_blank" href="http://ryanmurdock.com"&gt;ryanmurdock.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit &lt;a href="https://www.personallandscapespodcast.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&amp;#38;utm_campaign=CTA_2"&gt;www.personallandscapespodcast.com/subscribe&lt;/a&gt;</description>

Personal Landscapes

Ryan Murdock

Peter Matthiessen with biographer Lance Richardson

OCT 28, 202566 MIN
Personal Landscapes

Peter Matthiessen with biographer Lance Richardson

OCT 28, 202566 MIN

Description

<p>Peter Matthiessen is a towering figure of twentieth-century American letters, and the only writer to win the National Book Award in both fiction and nonfiction.</p><p>He’s also a difficult man to pin down because he accomplished so much in so many different areas.</p><p>He co-founded The Paris Review and spied for the CIA. He was best known for 'nature' books like The Snow Leopard, but thought of himself as a novelist. He was also a spiritual seeker who reached the highest ranks of Zen Buddhism. How do you come to grips with a life as varied as this?</p><p>I'm joined by biographer Lance Richardson, the author of True Nature: The Pilgrimage of Peter Matthiessen.</p><p>We spoke about Matthiessen’s privileged background, his life-changing journey to Nepal, his serial womanizing, and his greatest books.</p><p>Personal Landscapes relies on the support of listeners like you to keep going. Please consider joining my Member's Club on Substack <a target="_blank" href="https://www.personallandscapespodcast.com/p/start-here">https://www.personallandscapespodcast.com/p/start-here</a></p><p>You’ll be supporting an independent ad-free podcast that publishes carefully curated conversations like this one, backed by decades of reading.Find me on: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.instagram.com/ryanmurdock.writer/">Instagram</a></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/@RyanMurdockRoadWisdom">YouTube</a></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/roadwisdom">X</a></p><p>Follow my travels — and buy my books — on <a target="_blank" href="http://ryanmurdock.com">ryanmurdock.com</a></p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://www.personallandscapespodcast.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_2">www.personallandscapespodcast.com/subscribe</a>