Ander Monson

• Name — Ander Monson • Born — 9 April 1975 • Birthplace — Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S. • Education — Knox College (BA) Iowa State University (MA) University of Alabama (MFA) • Genres — novel, poetry, nonfiction • Awards — John C. Zacharis First Book Award, Great Lakes Colleges New Writers Award in Nonfiction, Guggenheim Fellowship, Howard Foundation Fellowship Ander Monson (born April 9, 1975) is an American novelist, poet, and nonfiction writer.

He was raised in Houghton, Michigan in the Upper Peninsula. His mother's death when he was seven years old is reflected in the themes of his later fiction. He received his Bachelor of Arts from Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois. He went on to earn an MA from Iowa State University and an MFA from the University of Alabama. Monson's first two books, the novel Other Electricities and the poetry collection Vacationland, were published in 2005. Other Electricities was praised widely for its innovative approach, lyric intensity, and grim humor. His nonfiction debut, Neck Deep and Other Predicaments: Essays was published in February 2007. It was critically acclaimed for its imaginative reworkings of the form of the essay. In March 2010 Graywolf Press published his collection of essays titled "Vanishing Point: Not a Memoir." The collection includes his essay "Solipsism" which was originally published on his website, republished by Pinch, and anthologized in Best American Essays 2008. In July 2010 Sarabande published a collection of his poetry titled "The Available World." Monson is the editor of the literary magazine DIAGRAM, and the New Michigan Press. He lives in Tucson, Arizona, and teaches at University of Arizona.

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