Daniel Kalder was born in Fife, Scotland in 1974. After gaining a degree in English Literature from Edinburgh University he worked briefly in the British government’s Mad Cow Crisis unit before escaping to Moscow in 1997 in pursuit of radical experiences and psychic disorientation. For ten years he lived and worked in Russia and the former Soviet Union, applying himself to several trades, although he never sold arms or human organs.

Styling himself as an anti-tourist, Kalder takes pleasure in visiting all the places people in their right minds usually avoid — ranging from a city dedicated to chess in Kalmykia, Russia, to a Siberian mountain village where the inhabitants worship a former soviet traffic cop turned Messiah named Vissarion Christ. Coming from the middle of nowhere himself, he is dedicated to uncovering the secret beauty and hidden strangeness of wastelands and voids. So far his travels have resulted in two highly unusual, critically acclaimed books Lost Cosmonaut and Strange Telescopes.

In 2006 Kalder decided it was time for a change and relocated from Moscow to Texas. Since then he has drunk deep of the local culture and Texans now recognize him as a ‘true Texan’ in spite of his foreign roots and accent. He regards this as a compliment.

Visit him online at www.danielkalder.com.

 

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