Anders Carlson-Wee is the author of DISEASE OF KINGS (W.W. Norton, 2023), THE LOW PASSIONS (W.W. Norton, 2019), a New York Public Library Book Group Selection, and DYNAMITE (Bull City Press, 2015), winner of the Frost Place Chapbook Prize. He is the editor of the anthology BEST NEW POETS 2024. His work has appeared in The Paris Review, The Washington Post, Poetry, Harvard Review, BuzzFeed, American Poetry Review, Ploughshares, Virginia Quarterly Review, The Sun, The Southern Review, and many other publications. The recipient of fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, Poets & Writers, the Camargo Foundation, Bread Loaf, Sewanee, and the Napa Valley Writers’ Conference, he is the winner of the Poetry International Prize. His work has been translated into Chinese. Anders holds an MFA from Vanderbilt University and is represented by Massie & McQuilkin Literary Agents.
DISEASE OF KINGS is out now from W.W. NORTON. If you’d like to host Anders for an event on his 2024 Book Tour, or if you’d like to conduct an interview or book review, contact him HERE.
THE LOW PASSIONS was recently selected for the New York Public Library Book Group. If you’d like to use one of Anders’ books for your book group, feel free to contact Gina Savoy at Norton.
As a visiting writer, Anders has been hosted by universities, high schools, bookstores, and book festivals across the country, including Emory University, Vanderbilt University, Rutgers University, Penn State, University of Portland, Pacific Lutheran University, Auburn University, Western Washington University, California Lutheran University, Carleton College, University of Hartford, NC State University, Washington & Jefferson College, Phillips Exeter Academy, the Stella Adler Studio of Acting, the Nightingale-Bamford School in NYC, the Southern Festival of Books, Wisconsin Book Festival, the Marin Poetry Center, Powell’s Bookstore, Greenlight Poetry Salon in Brooklyn, Poetry Society of New Hampshire, the Fourth Sundays Reading Series at Claremont Library in Los Angeles, and the New York Public Library Book Group.
Anders has taught at the Fine Arts Work Center, Vanderbilt University, Western Washington University, the Art Academy of Cincinnati, and the Solstice MFA program at Lasell University. He has also taught classes at The Loft Literary Center, The Porch Writers Collective, The Midwest Writers Center, and Pioneer Valley Writers Workshop.
Anders’ work has been reviewed and discussed in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, The Guardian, Publisher’s Weekly, Booklist, The Kenyon Review, The Sun, Rain Taxi Review of Books, West Branch, The Sewanee Review, and on Slate’s podcast Lexicon Valley with John McWhorter, among many other places.
Anders recently served as THE CONNECTICUT POETRY CIRCUIT TOURING POET, offering readings from THE LOW PASSIONS at Connecticut universities. Founded in 1964, the Connecticut Poetry Circuit has featured a long list of esteemed poets, including Frank Bidart, Natasha Trethewey, Charles Simic, Adrienne Rich, Mark Strand, James Merrill, Robert Pinsky, Edward Hirsch, Richard Hugo, Galway Kinnell, Mark Doty, Marilyn Nelson, Mary Jo Salter, Donald Justice, Aracelis Girmay, Martín Espada, James Tate, Tom Sleigh, Mark Jarman, Safia Elhillo, Brian Turner, and Charles Wright.
Anders is co-director of the award-winning film, RIDING THE HIGHLINE, which traces a freight-hopping trip across the nation. A hybrid project—half documentary, half poetry video—RIDING THE HIGHLINE has won numerous prizes at film festivals, including the Napa Valley Film Festival, Rochester International Film Festival, and the Arizona International Film Festival. Anders often pairs screenings of RIDING THE HIGHLINE with his poetry readings to create multidisciplinary events.