Linda K. Hogan (née Henderson, born July 16, 1947) is an American poet, storyteller, academic, playwright, novelist, environmentalist and writer of short stories. She previously served as the Chickasaw Nation's writer in residence. Hogan is a recipient of the Lannan Literary Award for Poetry.

Early life

Linda Hogan was born July 16, 1947, in Denver, Colorado. Her father, Charles C. Henderson, is a Chickasaw from a recognized historical family. Her mother, Cleona Florine (Bower) Henderson was of white descent. Linda's uncle, Wesley Henderson, helped form the White Buffalo Council in Denver during the 1950s, to help other Native American people coming to the city because of The Relocation Act, which forcibly removed Indigenous peoples for work and other opportunities.

Career

Hogan earned a Master of Arts (M. A.) degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1978. She was a full professor of Creative Writing at the University of Colorado and then taught for two years in the university's Ethnic Studies Department. She has been a speaker at the United Nations Forum and was a plenary speaker at the Environmental Literature Conference in Turkey in 2009. Her most recent teaching has been as Writer in Residence for The Chickasaw Nation for six years, and a faculty position at the Indian Arts Institute in Santa Fe. Hogan has worked across various genres, such as poetry, novel-length fiction, short fiction, and nature essays. She has also written nonfiction essays for environmental organizations like The Nature Conservancy and the Sierra Club. In 2015, Hogan worked with Brenda Peterson on, Sightings, the Mysterious Journey of the Gray Whale for National Geographic books. She also wrote the script for the PBS documentary, Everything Has a Spirit, regarding Native American religious freedom.

Personal life

Hogan married Pat Hogan and has two children.

Awards and recognition

Published works

Criticism

In Anthology