Martin Pousson (born April 13, 1966) is an American

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

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 (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

, and

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

Early life and education

He was born and raised in

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

, in the

Cajun The Cajuns (; French: ''les Cadjins'' or ''les Cadiens'' ), also known as Louisiana ''Acadians'' (French: ''les Acadiens''), are a Louisiana French ethnicity mainly found in the US state of Louisiana and surrounding Gulf Coast states. Whi ...

bayou land of

Acadiana Acadiana (; French language, French and Cajun French language, Louisiana French: ''L'Acadiane'' or ''Acadiane''), also known as Cajun Country (Cajun French language, Louisiana French: ''Pays des Cadiens''), is the official name given to the ...

. He received a B.A. from

Loyola University New Orleans Loyola University New Orleans is a Private university, private Jesuit university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Originally established as Loyola College in 1904, the institution was chartered as a university in 1912. It bears the nam ...

in 1987 and an M.F.A. from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in 1999. Some of his favorite writers include

James Baldwin James Arthur Baldwin (né Jones; August 2, 1924 – December 1, 1987) was an American writer and civil rights activist who garnered acclaim for his essays, novels, plays, and poems. His 1953 novel '' Go Tell It on the Mountain'' has been ranked ...

Carson McCullers Carson McCullers (February 19, 1917 – September 29, 1967) was an American novelist, short-story writer, playwright, essayist, and poet. Her first novel, ''The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter'' (1940), explores the spiritual isolation of misfits ...

, and

Truman Capote Truman Garcia Capote ( ; born Truman Streckfus Persons; September 30, 1924 – August 25, 1984) was an American novelist, screenwriter, playwright, and actor. Several of his short stories, novels, and plays have been praised as literary classics ...

, as well as

John Rechy John Francisco Rechy (born March 10, 1931) is a Mexican-American novelist and essayist. His novels are written extensively about gay culture in Los Angeles and wider America, among other subject matter. '' City of Night'', his debut novel publis ...

Career

His first novel, ''No Place, Louisiana'' (2002), was published by

Riverhead Books Riverhead Books is an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) founded in 1994 by Susan Petersen Kennedy. Writers published by Riverhead include Ali Sethi, Marlon James, Junot Díaz, George Saunders, Khaled Hosseini, Nick Hornby, Anne Lamott, Carl ...

, and it tells the story of a

family, a troubled marriage, and an American dream gone wrong set in

's bayou country. The novel was praised by

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

-winner

Michael Cunningham Michael Cunningham (born November 6, 1952) is an American novelist and screenwriter. He is best known for his 1998 novel '' The Hours'', which won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the PEN/Faulkner Award in 1999. Cunningham is Professor in th ...

and was acclaimed in reviews by ''

The Advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. The Advocate, The Advocates or Advocate may also refer to: Magazines * The Advocate (magazine), ''The Advocate'' (magazine), an LGBT magazine based in the United States * ''The Harvard Advocate' ...

'', ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'', ''

New York Daily News The ''Daily News'' is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, New Jersey. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson in New York City as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in Tabloid (newspaper format ...

'', ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

'', and the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

''. ''No Place, Louisiana'' was a finalist for the John Gardner Fiction Book Award. His first collection of poetry, ''Sugar'' (2005), was published by Suspect Thoughts Press, and it centers on the lives of outsiders, especially

s and

queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are non-heterosexual or non- cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against LGBTQ people in the late 19th century. From the late 1980s, queer activists began to ...

s. Some of the poems deal with

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...

and the

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

epidemic. The collection was praised by

Alfred Corn Alfred Corn (born August 14, 1943) is an American poet and essayist. Early life Alfred Corn was born in Bainbridge, Georgia in 1943 and raised in Valdosta, Georgia. Corn graduated from Emory University in 1965 with a B.A. in French literature ...

and

Jake Shears Jason Sellards (born October 3, 1978), known professionally by the stage name Jake Shears, is an American singer, songwriter, musician and actor. He is best known as the co-lead vocalist of New York City pop-rock band Scissor Sisters, who achi ...

, and it was named a finalist for the

Lambda Literary Awards Lambda Literary Awards, also known as the "Lammys", are awarded yearly by Lambda Literary Foundation, Lambda Literary to recognize the crucial role LGBTQ+ writers play in shaping the world. The Lammys celebrate the very best in LGBTQ+ literatur ...

in 2006. He says that this collection would not have ever been published if it were not for a friend's saved copy of the manuscript. In 2005, he was named one of the Leading Men of the Year by ''Instinct'' magazine, alongside

and

Keith Boykin Keith Boykin is an American TV and film producer, national political commentator, author, and former White House aide to President Bill Clinton. He has made much of this public in his 2022 memoir, ''Quitting: Why I Left My Job to Live a Life of ...

. In 2014, he won a

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 feder ...

Fellowship in Creative Writing. His second novel, ''Black Sheep Boy'' (2017), was published by

Rare Bird Books Rare Bird Books is an American publishing house. It was founded by Tyson Cornell, the former director of publicity and marketing at Book Soup. Rare Bird has five imprints: California Coldblood, which is focused on sci-fi and similar genres; A Ba ...

. A

PEN America PEN America (formerly PEN American Center), founded in 1922, and headquartered in New York City, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose goal is to raise awareness for the protection of free expression in the United States and worldwide th ...

/PEN Center USA limited edition was published in paperback by

in 2018. ''Black Sheep Boy'' tells the story of Boo, a queer mixed-race boy, the son of a Creole mother and a

father, set in the bayous of

. The

coming-of-age novel In literary criticism, a bildungsroman () is a literary genre that focuses on the psychological and moral growth and change of the protagonist from childhood to adulthood (coming of age). The term comes from the German words ('formation' or 'edu ...

is told in thirteen stories, ranging from

horror Horror may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Genres *Horror fiction, a genre of fiction **Psychological horror, a subgenre of horror fiction **Christmas horror, a subgenre of horror fiction **Analog horror, a subgenre of horror fiction * ...

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

and

magic realism Magical realism, magic realism, or marvelous realism is a style or genre of fiction and art that presents a realistic view of the world while incorporating magical elements, often blurring the lines between speculation and reality. ''Magical re ...

. Boo faces

homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who identify or are perceived as being lesbian, Gay men, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred, or ant ...

and other traumas at home, in school, and also in

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

bars. Some of the stories involve Boo with

drag queen A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses Drag (entertainment), drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate Femininity, female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have ...

s and

transgender A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth. The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...

activists. Other stories involve Boo with

werewolves In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (from Ancient Greek ), is an individual who can shapeshift into a wolf, or especially in modern film, a therianthropic hybrid wolf–humanlike creature, either purposely or after bei ...

skinwalker In Navajo culture, a skin-walker () is a type of Black magic, harmful Witch (Navajo), witch who has the ability to Shapeshifting, turn into, possess, or disguise themselves as an animal. The term is never used for healers. The yee naaldlooshii, ...

s, and voodoo traiteurs. A selection of the stories won a

Fellowship. ''Black Sheep Boy'' was praised by the ''

'',

The Millions ''The Millions'' is an online literary magazine created by C. Max Magee in 2003. It contains articles about literary topics and book reviews. ''The Millions'' has several regular contributors as well as frequent guest appearances by literary no ...

, and

Lambda Literary The Lambda Literary Foundation (also known as Lambda Literary) is an American LGBTQ literary organization whose mission is to nurture and advocate for LGBTQ writers, elevating the impact of their words to create community, preserve their legaci ...

, as well as by the writers

Justin Torres Justin Torres (born 1980) is an American novelist and an associate professor of English at University of California, Los Angeles. He won the First Novelist Award for his semi-autobiographical debut novel ''We the Animals'' (2011), which was also ...

Aimee Bender Aimee Bender (born June 28, 1969) is an American novelist and short story writer, known for her surreal stories and characters. She is a 2011 recipient of the Alex Awards. Biography Born to a American Jews, Jewish family, Bender received her un ...

and

Chris Abani Christopher Abani (born 27 December 1966) is a Nigerian American author. He says he is part of a new generation of Nigerian writers working to convey to an English-speaking audience the experience of those born and raised in "that troubled Afr ...

. Stories from the novel were anthologized in

Lethe Press Lethe Press is an American book publishing company based in Western Massachusetts.

's ''Best Gay Stories'' and ''Best Gay Speculative Fiction''. ''Black Sheep Boy'' was featured on

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

's The Reading Life, as a ''

'' Literary Pick, and as a

Book Riot ''Book Riot'' is an independent literary website founded in 2011. The site publishes a range of book-related articles, book reviews, newsletters, and podcasts. The site is operated by Riot New Media Company, which was co-founded by Jeff O'Neal ...

Must-Read Indie Press Book. In 2017, ''Black Sheep Boy'' won the

/PEN Center USA Literary Award for Fiction. In 2018, ''Black Sheep Boy'' was a shortlist finalist for the

Joyce Carol Oates Joyce Carol Oates (born June 16, 1938) is an American writer. Oates published her first book in 1963, and has since published 58 novels, a number of plays and novellas, and many volumes of short stories, poetry, and nonfiction. Her novels ''Black ...

Prize / Simpson Family Literary Prize. His stories, poems, and essays have appeared in ''

'', ''

Antioch Review ''The Antioch Review'' is an American literary magazine established in 1941 at Antioch College in Ohio. The magazine was published on a quarterly basis. One of the oldest continuously published literary magazines in the United States prior to it ...

'', ''

Cimarron Review ''The Cimarron Review'' is a major American literary journal published quarterly by the Oklahoma State University. It was founded in 1967, and its current editor is Lisa Lewis. The magazine has its headquarters in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Contribut ...

'', ''

Eclectica Magazine ''Eclectica Magazine'' is one of the oldest surviving online literary publications. History and profile Founded in 1996 by Chris Lott and Tom Dooley, ''Eclectica'' extensive and growing archives contain poetry, fiction, non-fiction, miscellany, ...

'', ''

Epoch In chronology and periodization, an epoch or reference epoch is an instant in time chosen as the origin of a particular calendar era. The "epoch" serves as a reference point from which time is measured. The moment of epoch is usually decided b ...

'', '' Five Points'', ''Gay City Anthology'', ''

Los Angeles Review of Books The ''Los Angeles Review of Books'' (''LARB'' is a literary review magazine covering the national and international book scenes. A preview version launched on Tumblr in April 2011, and the official website followed one year later in April 201 ...

'', ''The Louisiana Review'', ''

New Orleans Review ''New Orleans Review'', founded in 1968, is a journal of contemporary literature and culture that publishes "poetry, fiction, nonfiction, art, photography, film and book reviews" by established and emerging writers and artists. ''New Orleans Revi ...

'',

's ''The Reading Life'', ''

Parnassus Mount Parnassus (; , ''Parnassós'') is a mountain range of central Greece that is, and historically has been, especially valuable to the Greek nation and the earlier Greek city-states for many reasons. In peace, it offers scenic views of the c ...

'', ''The Rattling Wall'', ''

The Rumpus ''The Rumpus'' is an online literary magazine founded by Stephen Elliott (author), Stephen Elliott, and launched on January 20, 2009. The site features interviews, book reviews, essays, comics, and critiques of creative culture as well as origi ...

'', ''

StoryQuarterly ''StoryQuarterly'' is an American literary journal based at Rutgers University–Camden in Camden, New Jersey. It was founded in 1975 by Tom Bracken, F.R. Katz, Pamela Painter and Thalia Selz. Works originally published in ''StoryQuarterly'' ha ...

'', and ''

TriQuarterly ''TriQuarterly'' is a name shared by an American literary magazine and a series of books. The journal is published twice a year under the aegis of the Northwestern University Department of English and features fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama ...

''. In 2019, his

Walt Whitman Walter Whitman Jr. (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist, and journalist; he also wrote two novels. He is considered one of the most influential poets in American literature and world literature. Whitman incor ...

tribute poem, "Uncivil War," was a

Pushcart Prize The Pushcart Prize is an American literary prize published by Pushcart Press that honors the best "poetry, short fiction, essays or literary whatnot" published in the small presses over the previous year. Magazine and small book press editors are ...

nominee. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, he worked in San Francisco as an AIDS activist with

ACT UP AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) is an international, grassroots political group working to end the AIDS pandemic. The group works to improve the lives of people with AIDS through direct action, medical research, treatment and advocacy, ...

and

Project Open Hand Project Open Hand is a California nonprofit organization that provides medically tailored meals and groceries to elderly and homebound people in San Francisco and Alameda County. Founded in 1985 to deliver meals to people with AIDS, it also took ...

and as an LGBTQ activist with

Queer Nation Queer Nation is an LGBTQ activist organization founded in March 1990 in New York City, by HIV/AIDS Activism, activists from AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power, ACT UP. The four founders were outraged at the escalation of Violence against LGBT peopl ...

. In 1993, at

, he founded Out/Here, the first

LGBTQ LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, Gay men, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning (sexuality and gender), questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, Asexuality, asexual, ...

student organization on a Southern Jesuit campus. In 2007 at

California State University, Northridge California State University, Northridge (CSUN or Cal State Northridge), is a public university in the Northridge neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. With a total enrollment of 36,848 students (as of Fall 2024), it has the ...

, he was a founding faculty member for one of the earliest

Queer Studies Queer studies, sexual diversity studies, or LGBTQ studies is the study of topics relating to sexual orientation and gender identity usually focusing on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, gender dysphoric, asexual, aromantic, queer, question ...

Programs in the United States. He also led the drive for the first Pride Center at

serving as

Faculty Liaison, LGBTQA Faculty Advisor,

Queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are non-heterosexual or non- cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against LGBTQ people in the late 19th century. From the late 1980s, queer activists began to ...

Ambassadors Faculty Advisor, and Advisor for the 2012 National

People of Color The term "person of color" (: people of color or persons of color; abbreviated POC) is used to describe any person who is not considered "white". In its current meaning, the term originated in, and is associated with, the United States. From th ...

Conference. He has taught at

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, at

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

and at

. He is currently a Professor of English at

, in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. He teaches in the

Creative Writing Creative writing is any writing that goes beyond the boundaries of normal professional, journalistic, academic, or technical forms of literature, typically identified by an emphasis on craft and technique, such as narrative structure, character ...

Program and the

Studies Program, and some of his most popular courses include Narrative Writing, Advanced Narrative Writing, Theories of Fiction, and

Gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

Male Writers. At

he won the Outstanding Creative Accomplishment Award, the Jerome Richfield Scholar Award, and the Excellence in Teaching Award.

References

External links

*https://penusa.org/2017-literary-awards-winners *http://wwno.org/post/reading-life-wally-lamb-miriam-davis-and-martin-pousson *http://www.latimes.com/books/jacketcopy/la-et-jc-lit-pick-martin-pousson-20160526-snap-story.html *http://www.lambdaliterary.org/reviews/05/11/black-sheep-boy-by-martin-pousson/ *http://www.themillions.com/2016/06/breathless-and-unexplainable-dread-on-this-summers-horror-fiction.html *http://therumpus.net/2017/02/the-friends-of-dorothy-have-something-to-say-to-kansas/ *http://ontopdownunderbookreviews.com/category/books-of-the-year/ *https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/tower-power-poem-donald-trump/ *http://www.advocate.com/commentary/2016/7/07/were-living-lgbt-history-will-we-remember-it *http://www.eclectica.org/v20n3/pousson.html *http://www.neworleansreview.org/father-fox/ *http://www.triquarterly.org/issues/issue-150/most-holy-ghost *http://www.rarebirdbooks.com/black-sheep-boy *http://www.latimes.com/books/jacketcopy/la-et-jc-nea-announces-2014-creative-writing-fellowships-20131211,0,7864702.story?track=rss#axzz2nE2snVJh *http://becerra.house.gov/latest-news/congressman-xavier-becerra-announces-nea-grants-for-arts-in-34th-district/ *http://csunshinetoday.csun.edu/arts-and-culture/csun-english-professor-martin-pousson-wins-nea-fellowship/ *https://web.archive.org/web/20070930195357/http://us.penguingroup.com/static/rguides/us/no_place_louisiana.html *https://web.archive.org/web/20070927205654/http://www.suspectthoughts.com/pousson.html *https://web.archive.org/web/20070808132918/http://www.suspectthoughts.com/presssugar.htm *https://web.archive.org/web/20070629110107/http://www.lambdaliterary.org/archives/finalists_LLF_awards.html *http://english.binghamton.edu/cwpro/BookAwards/GardnerWinners.htm *http://www.reviewsofbooks.com/no_place_louisiana/ *http://www.bookreporter.com/reviews/1573222003.asp *https://web.archive.org/web/20070929045942/http://sasfest.org/article.php?story=pousson.martin *https://www.simpsonliteraryproject.org/2018-prize-shortlist {{DEFAULTSORT:Pousson, Martin 1966 births 21st-century American novelists California State University, Northridge faculty American male novelists Novelists from Louisiana Living people American gay writers American LGBTQ poets American LGBTQ novelists 21st-century American poets American male poets 21st-century American male writers Columbia University faculty Gay poets