About Poetica

Poetica was founded by Anchorage graphic designer, writer, musician and creative strategist Emily (Kurn) Tallman.

With degrees in theater and creative writing, and more than two decades deeply involved in Anchorage’s arts community, Emily believes in forging authentic connections between her clients and their audience.

Before establishing her own business, Emily worked as art director and senior account executive at Anchorage’s respected Thompson & Co. Public Relations. She has served as executive director of the Friends of the Chugach National Forest Avalanche Information Center, associate poetry editor for Cirque Literary Journal and a member of the Anchorage Folk Festival board of directors. In 2021 and 2022, her graphic design work was recognized by the American Institute for Graphic Arts Alaska’s annual design contest. Her awards included Gold/Best in Category for the Music Alaska logo.

In 2023, she founded Arts Anchorage, an online arts and culture journal, which she single-handedly built into a valuable resource for Anchorage artists, venues, and arts supporters.

For more than a decade, Emily toured nationally as a working singer/songwriter, garnering numerous honors including second place in the Woody Guthrie Songwriting Contest and third place in the Rocky Mountain Folk Festival’s Emerging Artists Showcase. Her music ranked for eight consecutive months on the Folk-DJ charts and continues to see airplay nationally. She was the recipient of a 2009 Rasmuson Foundation Individual Artist Award.

Emily has a bachelor’s degree in theater arts from Brandeis University and a Master of Fine Arts degree in creative writing from the University of Alaska Anchorage.