Gary (Sherman) Snyder was born in San Francisco on May 8, 1930 to the parents of Harold Alton and Lois (Wilkie) Snyder. When Gary Snyder was little, he lived in the western United States, surrounded by nature. While he lived there, the destruction of the forests of the Pacific Northwest began, which even at such a young age still caused him pain (“Gary Snyder”). While growing up in such a rural area, where Snyder had a farm with chickens and cows and even an outbuilding as a bathroom; he thought this was just another way of life. Gary Snyder is fine with living in the city, although he prefers to live in a highly rural area (Martin). He began to examine and appreciate the American Indian culture around him. He felt that the Indians lived a life in harmony with nature; how everyone should live in his eyes. As Gary Snyder grew up, the wilder a place, the more it fascinated him. Snyder soon became an accomplished mountaineer and began to gain knowledge of outdoor survival techniques. His family once moved to Oregon and he spent most of his time in nature breathing in the fresh air. He went camping and hiking in the woods and was able to do everything himself ("Snyder, Gary"). Before Gary Snyder became a poet, he had numerous manual jobs, which he did on the side when he received his diploma. instruction. In 1951 he earned a bachelor's degree in anthropology and literature from Reed College and continued for another year at Indiana University. Studying anthropology and learning about the environment in college helped shape what Gary Snyder wrote about in the future. While studying literature he gained more knowledge to become a better writer. Snyder began to get his name out in... the middle of the paper... the final world. Works quoted "Gary Snyder". Contemporary authors online. Detroit: Gale, 2008. Literature Resource Center. Storm. University at Buffalo Libraries - SUNY. February 10, 2011. Martin, Julie. “Coyote-Mind: An Interview with Gary Snyder.” Quarterly. 79. (Fall 1990): 148-172. Rpt. in Criticism of Poetry. Ed. Carol T. Gaffke and Anna J. Fogli. vol. 21. Detroit: Gale Research, 1998. Literature Resource Center. Storm. University at Buffalo Libraries - SUNY. February 09, 2011 .McKibben, Bill and Albert Gore. American Land: Environmental Writing Since Thoreau. New York, NY: Literary Classics of the United States:, 2008. Print."Snyder, Gary." Current biography. 1978. Biographies. Network. February 11. 2011.