chris hoshnic

Chris Hoshnic is a Diné cross-disciplinary artist (poet, playwright, and filmmaker) from Sweetwater, Arizona. He is born to Kinlichii’nii, born for Tachinii; his maternal grandfather is Bitaanii and his paternal grandfather is Áshįįhi.

Hoshnic’s practice centers on migratory poetics, a connective and relational approach to writing that explores how movement—both literal and metaphorical—reshapes language, identity, and belonging. Treating translation, cultural exchange, and performative strategies as core methods, his work probes how crossing borders and disciplines gives rise to new forms of expression.

In dialogue with Indigenous histories and futurities, Hoshnic’s work reimagines language, gesture, and text as sites of memory, relationality, and collective transformation.

Hoshnic is the recipient of the Poetry Northwest 2025 James Welch Prize. His work has received support from Indigenous Nations Poets, Playwrights Realm, Tin House, Juniper Institute, and more. His work has been published in POETRY, Kenyon Review, and elsewhere.

His short film, Ozzy, premiered at the 2018 Jerome International Film Festival and has been a Screenwriting Fellow for the Native American Media Alliance Writers’ Seminar.

He is currently the Editor-in-Chief of Chapter House Journal, an online indigenous-centered literary magazine. Hoshnic currently directs Diné Kids Film Club, an Indigenous youth project dedicated to giving resources and networking opportunities for young Native filmmakers.

He is also currently an MFA candidate at the Institute of American Indian Arts.

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