Cammie
Basseri

Cammie Basseri grew up off the grid in the untamed wilderness of Yosemite, where she was immersed in the rhythms of nature and the seasonal flow of tourists from around the globe. Each summer brought a vibrant mix of cultures and languages to the national park, while winters were marked by deep silence and solitude. Her forthcoming memoir, It Must Have Been Beautiful, draws its title from the phrase most often heard in response when she shares the story of her unconventional childhood. Yet, for Basseri, life off the land was precarious, made more challenging by the need to navigate her family’s dysfunction and poverty, both of which were tied to her parents’ disabilities and, eventually, her own. With elegant, lyrical prose, Basseri invites readers into a richly textured natural world, where the landscape itself becomes a complex character, full of camaraderie and heartache.

Basserie’s writing has been published across the web and print publications including The Manifest Station, The Woolfer, Half Moon Bay Review, Medium, The Rumpus and East Bay Times.