Garrett grew up in Salt Lake City. He writes about the history of labor, political movements, and vernacular music of the American West and of southeastern Kentucky, where much of his family hails from. He has worked as a magazine editor, community reporter, teacher, consultancy scrivener (like Bartleby!), and network systems tech.
Before arriving to Outer Coast, Garrett taught literature and prose writing at the University of Alberta, where he served as director of the creative writing and writer-in-residence programs. He holds an MFA from the University of Arizona. In his spare time, he hunts, gardens, backcountry skis, and plays traditional Kentucky banjo and fiddle. He lives in Sitka with archaeologist and Outer Coast faculty member Maggie Spivey-Faulkner, their daughter, and two supremely fluffy cats.
(Photo by Sophia Bigelow ʼ26)