Brian Beckage

I was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania in the northern end of Appalachia. I am a mix of Celtic, Norse, Slavic and Native American ancestry. I have a strong attachment to the forests and mountains of North America, particularly the Appalachian mountains.

I'm the first generation to go to college in my family. My relatives were mechanics (father, grandfather) and police officers (grandfather), coal miners (great grandfather) and moonshiners (great grandfather), some in the center, some on the fringes of society. My father was a career NCO in the military and I grew up on military bases. I've lived in Vermont, Tennessee, Louisiana, North Carolina, Texas, Florida, New York, the Philippines, New Mexico, and Pennsylvania.

I'm married with four children. My wife is Chicano (from San Antonio) of Native ancestry, with a tribal affiliation from the southwestern US (Apache).

I enjoy hiking, being outdoors, long drives, weightlifting, kickboxing, meditation (Zen) and poetry.

I've spent a lot of time in school. I'm not sure how this came about, but it did. I think it was largely driven by curiosity about nature and the world and, more recently, about people.