Christian Bauman

Christian Bauman was born on June 15, 1970, in Easton, Pennsylvania. He spent his early childhood in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, before moving to Quakertown, New Jersey, in the fourth grade. Bauman’s youth involved extensive travel in North America and Europe, and a year in India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka between 1983 and 1984. He graduated from North Hunterdon High School in Clinton Township, New Jersey, in 1988. At 21, he enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1991, serving four years in the Army Waterborne unit. During his service, he completed tours of duty in Somalia from 1992 to 1993 and Haiti in 1994, deployed among the initial American troops in both operations.

Following his honorable discharge in 1995, Bauman pursued a career as a musician, performing on the North American folk circuit both solo and with the group Camp Hoboken. He opened for notable artists such as Pete Seeger and John Gorka, playing at venues including Godfrey Daniels and The Iron Horse. Bauman’s songwriting from this period, including “Kismaayo,” is preserved in the Smithsonian’s Folkways Collection. He transitioned to writing novels in the early 2000s, publishing his debut work, “The Ice Beneath You,” in 2002. This novel drew directly from his experiences in Somalia, with portions written during his deployment.

Bauman continued his literary career with “Voodoo Lounge” in 2005, which explored themes related to the 1994 Haiti occupation, and “In Hoboken” in 2008, focusing on musicians and a mental health facility. Additionally, he became a regular contributor of short essays to NPR’s “All Things Considered” between 2003 and 2006, often reflecting on his military service and personal life. Bauman has also held roles in advertising, serving as a creative director in New York City, and more recently as Chief Creative Officer at Imre.