Once a professor of American Literature in New England, Anderson left academia to return to his roots in rural Northeast North Dakota — where the land, and his father’s health, needed him most.
“I promised my dad when I was 13, when he was diagnosed with MS, that I would become a doctor someday, and I would try to cure MS. And I did, technically, I guess, become a doctor, but I got a PhD in English,” says Anderson. “I think I’m starting to find the ways that words and stories are legitimate kinds of medicine, and that the real work and stewardship is also to restore our relationships with land.”
His writing is inspired by the work of Louise Erdrich, an acclaimed Anishinaabe author (and enrolled citizen of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians of North Dakota) known for her richly layered novels exploring Native American history, identity, and family dynamics, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, “The Night Watchman.” “I probably would not be a writer if it were not for her work,” says Anderson.
Anderson’s writing, published in North American Review, Open Space, and Iowa Capital Dispatch, is deeply invested in capturing the essence of rural life, a world often overlooked in mainstream narratives. “I write a lot about growing up in a big kind of outlaw family: my mom was the youngest of nine, my grandfather was the oldest of 11. I come from a county with eight people per square mile, and I’m probably related to about seven of the eight,” says Anderson.”It’s a kind of wild place to come from, that isn’t really storied at all in kind of national fabric — it’s flyover country for a lot of people.”
Anderson’s work also delves into environmental concerns, particularly the region’s heavy reliance on sugar beet farming — a monoculture that has transformed the landscape into what ecologists call the “Black Desert.” Now, working with the local Soil Conservation District, Anderson focuses on prairie restoration, soil health, and the intricate connections between ecological and human well-being.
This spring, Anderson is bringing his expertise for storytelling to Pine Meadow Ranch Center for Arts & Agriculture (PMRCAA) as an artist-in-residence. “I am really excited that the theme for the residency is care and stewardship, because that’s the center of my work today,” says Anderson.
“We often frame rural places as places of scarcity, and certainly there’s good reason to frame it that way. But part of what I’m up to is really thinking about rural abundance,” says Anderson. “Both the abundance that’s already there and the abundance that’s possible with a few policy changes.”
Learn more about Anderson and his work through a collaborative event with his sister, Jordana Anderson, a geologist and biologist, where they will explore themes of land health, personal care work, and rural abundance. Register today for their lecture, O-Horizon: Care/Work on American Soil, on May 3 from 4 – 6 p.m. Attendees can expect an engaging discussion followed by a hands-on seeding activity, symbolizing writing on the land.
Anderson will also co-host an Open Studio alongside Ben Erlandson and Karen Edmonds on May 8, 2025 from 4 – 6 p.m.
