About Erin Keane

photo by Misty Enright

I was born in New Jersey and raised in Kentucky and feel both states are misunderstood.

My Books:

RUNAWAY: Notes on the Myths that Made Me, My debut full-length nonfiction book, is a memoir in essays about my parents/pop culture/gender. Out in hardcover and paperback from Belt Publishing, and audiobook from Blackstone (narrated by me!). Named one of NPR’s best books of 2022.

The Louisville Anthology, edited by (and including a foreword by) me, from Belt Publishing’s City Series. This collection of essays and poems set in Louisville showcases a talented group of contributors. Featuring poems by Joy Priest, an oral history of the beginnings of Louisville’s punk scene by members of Babylon Dance Band, and more.

I’m also the author of three collections of poetry: Demolition of the Promised Land (Typecast Publishing, 2014 — out of print), Death-Defying Acts (WordFarm, 2010), and The Gravity Soundtrack, (WordFarm, 2007).

Journalism: I’m honored to work with the fine team at Salon.com, where I’m Chief Content Officer. At Salon, I write about culture and drinks, including the cocktails-and-mindfulness column The Oracle Pour, in which I dress my writing about life up in drink recipe clothes. I’m a public radio alum and daily newspaper-trained, and I cut my teeth in the beautiful wild world of the alt-weekly.

Teaching: I’m a member of the faculty of Spalding University’s Sena Naslund-Karen Mann Graduate School of Writing, where I teach creative nonfiction and poetry.

Where I’m From: I’m a proud graduate of the Spalding University MFA in Writing program, Bellarmine College, and the Kentucky Governor’s School for the Arts. I’ve received the Al Smith Individual Artist Fellowship from the Kentucky Arts Council and fellowships from the National Critics Institute at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center and the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts.