Beresford-Kroeger, Diana 1944-

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Beresford-Kroeger, Diana 1944-

PERSONAL:

Born July 25, 1944, in England; daughter of John Leslie and Eileen A. Beresford; married Christian H. Kroeger (a photographer); children: Erika L. M. Ethnicity: "Anglo-Irish."Education: Earned B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Ireland; earned Ph.D. inUnited States; also studied in Canada. Hobbies and other interests: Irish language, poetry, visual art, theater.

ADDRESSES:

Home—P.O. Box 253, Merrickville, Ontario K0G 1N0, Canada.

CAREER:

Writer. Worked as scientist and lecturer in Ireland, 1969-82, and Canada, including scientific work at Canadian Department of Agriculture and University of Ottawa, and lectures at National University of Ireland, University College, Cork, and Carleton University; research scientist in molecular biology and hemodilution. Host of Canadian and U.S. radio and television programs. Affiliate of charities, including Medecins sans Frontiers, Shepherd of Good Hope Shelter, and Canadian National Institute for the Blind.

AWARDS, HONORS:

National Arbor Day Foundation Award for Media, 2005, for Arboretum America: A Philosophy of the Forest.

WRITINGS:

Bioplanning a North Temperate Garden, Quarry Press (Kingston, Ontario, Canada), 1999.

Arboretum America: A Philosophy of the Forest, photographs by husband, Christian H. Kroeger, foreword by Edward O. Wilson, University of Michigan Press (Ann Arbor, MI), 2003.

A Garden for Life (nonfiction), University of Michigan Press (Ann Arbor, MI), 2004.

Time Will Tell (short stories), Quarry Press (Kingston, Ontario, Canada), 2004.

Other writings include Essays of the Global Forest; author of four novels and two additional short-story collections, some in English and others in Gaelic. Columnist forCanadian Organic Growers, Nature Canada, and Merrickville Phoenix. Contributor to scientific journals and other periodicals, including Journal of Microscopy, American Heart Journal, Canadian Heart Journal, American Journal of Physiology, American Gardens, and publications of the Irish Garden Plant Society and Wiltshire Gardens Trust. Author of more than 150 short stories and other works broadcast on Canadian radio programs.

SIDELIGHTS:

Diana Beresford-Kroeger told CA: "I write because I feel I have much to say. My writing flows through me like a mountain stream. My words are of science and literature.

"The ancient Gaelic poets have influenced my mind, my science, and my writing. The humanity seen in their poems is a constant for the human race.

"I write in the morning. I write to the point of silk. The piece or book has to have a beat of its own, a pace, a meter if you like. Then it's ready.

"Writing is an art form. It comes from the landscape of the mind. Mine is of science and words. The world can spin on a word. This is more important now than it has ever been."