Adrian Matejka is an American

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

. He was the

poet laureate A poet laureate (plural: poets laureate) is a poet officially appointed by a government or conferring institution, typically expected to compose poems for special events and occasions. Albertino Mussato of Padua and Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch) ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

for the 2018–2019 term. Since May 2022, he has been the editor of ''

Poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...

'' magazine.

Life

Born in

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

, Germany, while his family served in the U.S. military, Adrian Matejka was raised in

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

, Indiana, in the United States. He graduated from

Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, or simply Indiana) is a public university, public research university in Bloomington, Indiana. It is the flagship university, flagship campus of Indiana University and, with ...

and Southern Illinois University Carbondale with an MFA in Creative Writing. He has received fellowships from the

Cave Canem Workshop A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea c ...

, the Guggenheim Foundation, the

Lannan Foundation The Lannan Literary Awards are a series of awards and literary fellowships given out in various fields by the Lannan Foundation. Established in 1989, the awards are meant "to honor both established and emerging writers whose work is of exceptional ...

, the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

, and United States Artists. He is the author of ''The Devil's Garden'' and ''Mixology''. His third collection, ''The Big Smoke'', is about Jack Johnson and was a finalist for the 2013

National Book Award The National Book Awards are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. The Nat ...

and the 2014

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...

and won an Anisfield-Wolf Book Award. His newest collection, ''Map to the Stars'', was published by Penguin in 2017. His work has appeared in literary journals and magazines including ''American Poetry Review'', ''Callaloo'', ''Crab Orchard Review'', ''Gulf Coast'', ''Indiana Review'', ''Poetry'', ''Ploughshares'', ''Prairie Schooner,'' and in anthologies including ''From the Fishouse'' (Persea Books, 2009) and ''The Best American Poetry 2010'' (Scribner, 2010). He teaches literature and creative writing at

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...

, and was the Indiana State Poet Laureate for 2018 and 2019. In 2022, he was named editor of ''

'' magazine.

Honors and awards

*2019 Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellowship *2019

Fellowship *2018 Bellagio Foundation Residency Fellowship *2015 United States Artists Simon Fellowship *2014

Lannan Literary Fellowship The Lannan Literary Awards are a series of awards and literary fellowships given out in various fields by the Lannan Foundation. Established in 1989, the awards are meant "to honor both established and emerging writers whose work is of exceptional ...

*2014

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...

*2014

Anisfield-Wolf Award The Anisfield-Wolf Book Award is an American literary award dedicated to honoring written works that make important contributions to the understanding of racism and the appreciation of the rich diversity of human culture. Established in 1935 by Clev ...

*2014

, Finalist *2013

, Finalist * 2011 Lannan Foundation Residency Fellowship * 2009 Illinois Arts Council * 2008 National Poetry Series * 2002 New York / New England Award

Published works

Full-Length Poetry Collections * * * * *Briefly reviewed in the September 13, 2021 issue of ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

''. Anthology Publications * ''All Green'' ——————— ;Notes

References

External links

*
Indiana University faculty website
Year of birth missing (living people) Living people African-American poets American poets Southern Illinois University alumni Writers from Eugene, Oregon Poets from Illinois Poets from Oregon Indiana University faculty Bavarian emigrants to the United States Articles containing video clips 21st-century African-American people {{US-poet-stub