Join two Alaska literary voices, Seth Kantner and Don Rearden, for a conversation that explores the wild intersections of humor, identity, and the role of writers as modern tricksters.

From the tundra to the classroom, Kantner and Rearden discuss how storytelling both shapes and subverts who we are, how humor survives in harsh landscapes, and why the writer, like the ancient trickster, exists to disturb, illuminate, and reveal truth.

Presented in conjunction with the Tricksters and Sourdoughs: Humor and Identity in Alaska exhibition, on view on the Second Floor.

About the Speakers
Seth Kantner was born and raised in the wilderness of northern Alaska and homeschooled on the land. He has worked as a commercial fisherman, wilderness guide and adjunct professor, and has spoken nationwide and in Canada. He is a Whiting Award winner for his debut novel Ordinary Wolves, which also won the Milkweed National Fiction Prize, the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Award, Publishers Weekly Best Books, and other awards. 

Don Rearden is a novelist, screenwriter, and sometimes tundra poet. Rearden wrote the critically acclaimed The Raven's Gift, which made The Washington Post Notable List for Fiction, calling him “a master of the cliffhanger.” He co-authored the best-selling memoirs Never Quit and Warrior's Creed.

Image 1: Joe Yelverton
Image 2: Kiliii Yuyan