I am a writer, curator and archaeologist based in Anchorage, Alaska, the homeland of the Dena’ina.  My work generally involves an abiding love of the written word—whether through the arrangement of words on the page, the shared experience of storytelling, the context of words across cultures, or the etymology of place-names and the history of the written word on the landscape. I am fascinated with the worlds that open up in exploring just one word, and how language contributes to a sense of belonging. A favorite recent project was producing a vinyl album of Indigenous circumpolar hiphop with some fantastic artists and collaborators.

I received an MFA from the University of Alaska Anchorage, where I also was a recipient of the Jason Wenger Award for creative thesis. I also hold an M.Phil in Archaeology from the University of Glasgow, where I studied the effects of writing on art and society in early medieval Scotland, and have worked in cultural resource preservation in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska.

My writing has appeared in several journals, including The Colorado Review,  Sugarhouse Review, and the Bellingham Review, where my poem After a Death was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. I’ve also edited and contributed to museum publications and anthologies published by University of Washington Press. For occasional updates, and many dog photos, follow me on instagram: @kjanderso.