She earned her Masters of Fine Art degree in poetry from Eastern Washington University. Her poetry explores the tension between location and displacement and the resulting impact on identity narratives, often within the context of the American West. “Miss Lost Nation,” Hurst’s first book was selected for the 2013 Robert Dana-Anhinga Prize for Poetry—a publication prize through Anhinga Press—by judge Richard Blanco, and was a finalist for the 2016 Kate Tufts Discovery Award through Claremont Graduate University. “Crisis on Infinite Earths: Issues 1-15,” a poem included in “Miss Lost Nation,” was selected by editors Sherman Alexie and David Lehman for Best American Poetry 2015.