Heather Kirn Lanier

About Me

I write poems, essays, and memoir. My nonfiction has been lauded by The Atlantic Monthly, noted in the Best American Essays Series, and published in such places as Fourth Genre, The Southern Review, and Colorado Review. My poetry has appeared in Beloit Poetry Journal, Cincinnati Review, Alaska Quarterly Review, and many other journals. My chapbook, "The Story You Tell Yourself," won the Wick Open Poetry Chapbook Competition and is forthcoming from Kent State University Press in 2012. I teach composition, creative writing, and literature at Miami University in Hamilton, Ohio.

Why do you write?

The only answer I can come up with here is the same that appears in Will Baker's essay, "My Children Explain the Big Issues," after Baker's son has poured sand from his sandbox onto the patio, and after Baker has scolded his son twice, and after the kid just keeps doing this.

"Why? Why are you doing this?" the dad asks.

"Eyeadhoo," the kid sobs.

It takes awhile for Baker to hear the sentence. I had to.

Any favorite authors? Books?

Some books I've loved: John D'Agata's "About a Mountain," Mary Karr's "Sinners Welcome," Lauren Slater's "Lying," Todd Boss' "Yellowrocket," Nick Flynn's "Another Bullshit Night in Suck City," Dave Eggers' "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius" and "What is the What," Rita Dove's "Mother Love," Martha Collins "Blue Front," George Orwell's "1984"