I’m Allyn West (they/them/she/her), a writer, editor, teacher and communications manager.

I grew up in rural Indiana and earned a B.S. in journalism at Ball State University, then an M.F.A. in poetry at New Mexico State University and a Ph.D. in creative nonfiction and literature at the Creative Writing Program at the University of Houston.

After that, based in Houston, I ran Swamplot, the popular architecture and real estate blog. I directed communications and contributed writing at Rice Design Alliance at Rice University, before moving to the Houston Chronicle. There, I edited and wrote for the award-winning digital-first “vertical,” Gray Matters, and helped co-host Looped In, a podcast about the city, and served on the editorial board. I’ve written and talked about everything from bus stops to naps to dirty power plants in and on the Cimarron Review, Houstonia, Landscape Architecture Magazine, Glasstire, Houston Matters, Los Angeles Review of Books, Texas Observer, Oxford American, and The Architect’s Newspaper.

Now, I work as the senior communications manager for advocacy storytelling at Environmental Defense Fund and EDF Action. I also publish very occasional personal essays about places and ideas, Letters from the Middle. I’d like to hear from you. Please email me or find me on social media.