He received a BA from the University of Canterbury and an MA and PhD from the University of California at Berkeley. Ker is the author of The Deaths of Seneca (Oxford University Press, 2009) and A Seneca Reader: Selections from Prose and Tragedy (Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers, 2011) and articles on Greek and Roman literature and culture. A Seneca Reader originated in his desire to introduce students to Seneca's unique literary style and to his wide-ranging works in both prose and poetry.