John Smelcer

John Smelcer is the author of over 40 books, including his recent books of fiction, Edge of Nowhere and Alaskan. He is the editor-compiler of dictionaries of two endangered Alaska Native languages: the Ahtna Noun Dictionary and Pronunciation Guide (foreword by Noam Chomsky and Steven Pinker) and the Alutiiq Noun Dictionary and Pronunciation Guide (foreword by H. H. The Dalai Lama). John's poetry book, Beautiful Words: The Complete Ahtna Poems (Truman State UP, 2011) represents the only literature ever written in the Ahtna language extant.