{{short description|American poet and editor (born 1971)}} {{Use American English|date=January 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox writer | name = Adrian Matejka | image = Adrian Matejka at 2026 AWP.jpg | alt = Color photo of Matejka smiling | image_size = 200 | caption = Matejka at AWP 2026 | birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1971}} | birth_place = Nuremberg, Germany | nationality = American | alma_mater = Indiana University Bloomington (BA)<br>Southern Illinois University Carbondale (MFA) | occupation = Poet, editor | genre = Poetry | notableworks = ''The Big Smoke'' | awards = Anisfield-Wolf Book Award<br>Guggenheim Fellowship }}
'''Adrian Matejka''' (born 1971)<ref name="PoetsOrg">{{cite web |title=Adrian Matejka |url=https://poets.org/poet/adrian-matejka |website=Academy of American Poets |access-date=May 5, 2026}}</ref> is an American poet and editor. He is the editor-in-chief of ''Poetry'' magazine, a position he has held since 2022.<ref name="PoetryTeam">{{cite web |title=Our Team |url=https://www.poetryfoundation.org/our-team |website=Poetry Foundation |access-date=May 5, 2026}}</ref><ref name="PoetryEditor">{{cite web |title=Adrian Matejka Joins Poetry Magazine as New Editor |url=https://www.poetryfoundation.org/articles/157892/adrian-matejka-joins-poetry-magazine-as-new-editor |website=Poetry Foundation |date=April 26, 2022 |access-date=May 5, 2026}}</ref> He is the author of six poetry collections and the graphic novel ''Last on His Feet: Jack Johnson and the Battle of the Century''.<ref name="PW2026">{{cite web |last=Graham |first=Evangeline Riddiford |title=Ten Questions for Adrian Matejka |url=https://www.pw.org/content/ten_questions_for_adrian_matejka |website=Poets & Writers |date=March 31, 2026 |access-date=May 5, 2026}}</ref> His poetry collection ''The Big Smoke'' won the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award and was a finalist for the National Book Award for Poetry and the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.<ref name="BigSmokeAwards">{{cite web |title=The Big Smoke |url=https://www.anisfield-wolf.org/winners/the-big-smoke/ |website=Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards |access-date=May 5, 2026}}; {{cite web |title=The Big Smoke |url=https://www.nationalbook.org/books/the-big-smoke/ |website=National Book Foundation |access-date=May 5, 2026}}; {{cite web |title=The Big Smoke, by Adrian Matejka (Penguin) |url=https://www.pulitzer.org/finalists/adrian-matejka |website=The Pulitzer Prizes |access-date=May 5, 2026}}</ref> Matejka served as Indiana poet laureate from 2018 to 2019.<ref name="IndianaPoetLaureate">{{cite web |title=Indiana Poet Laureate |url=https://www.in.gov/arts/programs-and-services/partners/indiana-poet-laureate/ |website=Indiana Arts Commission |publisher=State of Indiana |access-date=May 5, 2026}}</ref>
==Life== Matejka was born in Nuremberg, Germany, in 1971 and grew up in California and Indianapolis, Indiana.<ref name="PoetsOrg" /><ref name="PoetryFoundation">{{cite web |title=Adrian Matejka |url=https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/adrian-matejka |website=Poetry Foundation |access-date=May 5, 2026}}</ref> He received a BA from Indiana University Bloomington in 1995 and an MFA from SIU in 2001.<ref name="PoetsOrg" />
[[File:JackJohnsonNew.ogv|thumb|Interview with Matejka at the University of Southern Indiana about ''The Big Smoke'']]
Matejka's third collection, ''The Big Smoke'', is about the boxer Jack Johnson.<ref name="NBFBigSmoke">{{cite web |title=The Big Smoke |url=https://www.nationalbook.org/books/the-big-smoke/ |website=National Book Foundation |access-date=May 5, 2026}}</ref> The book was a finalist for the 2013 National Book Award for Poetry and the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, and won a 2014 Anisfield-Wolf Book Award.<ref name="NBFBigSmoke" /><ref name="PulitzerBigSmoke">{{cite web |title=The Big Smoke, by Adrian Matejka (Penguin) |url=https://www.pulitzer.org/finalists/adrian-matejka |website=The Pulitzer Prizes |access-date=May 5, 2026}}</ref><ref name="AnisfieldBigSmoke">{{cite web |title=The Big Smoke |url=https://www.anisfield-wolf.org/winners/the-big-smoke/ |website=Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards |access-date=May 5, 2026}}</ref>
Matejka has taught literature and creative writing at Indiana University Bloomington.<ref name="PoetryFoundation" /> He served as Indiana poet laureate from 2018 to 2019.<ref name="IndianaPoetLaureate" /> In 2022, he became editor-in-chief of ''Poetry'' magazine. The Poetry Foundation described him as the first Black editor to lead the magazine.<ref name="PoetryEditor" />
==Honors and awards== * 2003: New York/New England Award for ''The Devil's Garden''.<ref name="PoetryFoundation" /> * 2008: National Poetry Series, for ''Mixology''.<ref name="NPSMixology">{{cite web |title=Mixology |url=https://nationalpoetryseries.org/books/mixology |website=National Poetry Series |access-date=May 5, 2026}}</ref> * 2011: Lannan Foundation residency.<ref name="LannanMatejka">{{cite web |title=Adrian Matejka |url=https://www.lannan.org/bios/adrian-matejka |website=Lannan Foundation |access-date=May 5, 2026}}</ref> * 2013: National Book Award for Poetry finalist, for ''The Big Smoke''.<ref name="NBFBigSmoke">{{cite web |title=The Big Smoke |url=https://www.nationalbook.org/books/the-big-smoke/ |website=National Book Foundation |access-date=May 5, 2026}}</ref> * 2014: Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, for ''The Big Smoke''.<ref name="AnisfieldBigSmoke">{{cite web |title=The Big Smoke |url=https://www.anisfield-wolf.org/winners/the-big-smoke/ |website=Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards |access-date=May 5, 2026}}</ref> * 2014: Hurston/Wright Legacy Award finalist, for ''The Big Smoke''.<ref name="NEAMatejka">{{cite web |title=Adrian Matejka |url=https://www.arts.gov/impact/literary-arts/creative-writing-fellows/adrian-matejka |website=National Endowment for the Arts |access-date=May 5, 2026}}</ref> * 2014: Pulitzer Prize for Poetry finalist, for ''The Big Smoke''.<ref name="PulitzerBigSmoke">{{cite web |title=The Big Smoke, by Adrian Matejka (Penguin) |url=https://www.pulitzer.org/finalists/adrian-matejka |website=The Pulitzer Prizes |access-date=May 5, 2026}}</ref> * 2014: Guggenheim Fellowship in poetry.<ref name="GuggenheimMatejka">{{cite web |title=Adrian Matejka |url=https://www.gf.org/fellows/adrian-matejka/ |website=John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation |access-date=May 5, 2026}}</ref> * 2014: Lannan Literary Fellowship for poetry.<ref name="LannanMatejka" /> * 2015: United States Artists fellowship.<ref name="UnitedStatesArtists">{{cite web |title=Adrian Matejka |url=https://www.unitedstatesartists.org/artists/adrian-matejka |website=United States Artists |access-date=May 5, 2026}}</ref> * 2015: Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana Authors Award regional award.<ref name="IndianaAuthors">{{cite web |title=Adrian Matejka |url=https://indianaauthorsawards.org/authors/adrian-matejka/ |website=Indiana Authors Awards |access-date=May 5, 2026}}</ref> * 2019: Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellowship.<ref name="PoetsLaureateFellow">{{cite web |title=Poet Laureate of Indiana |url=https://poets.org/academy-american-poets/winner/prizes/academy-american-poets-laureate-fellowships/poet-laureate-4 |website=Academy of American Poets |access-date=May 5, 2026}}</ref> * 2019: National Endowment for the Arts creative writing fellowship in poetry.<ref name="NEAMatejka" /> * 2022: UNT Rilke Prize finalist, for ''Somebody Else Sold the World''.<ref name="UNTRilke2022">{{cite web |title=Belarusian poet named winner of UNT's 2022 Rilke Prize |url=https://news.unt.edu/news/2022/belarusian-poet-named-winner-unts-2022-rilke-prize.html |website=University of North Texas |date=April 12, 2022 |access-date=May 5, 2026}}</ref> * 2022: Indiana Authors Award poetry shortlist, for ''Somebody Else Sold the World''.<ref name="IndianaAuthors" />
Other honors include a Pushcart Prize, the Julia Peterkin Award, two Illinois Arts Council Literary Awards, a Cave Canem fellowship, a Rockefeller Foundation fellowship, and a Civitella Ranieri Foundation fellowship.<ref name="PoetryFoundation">{{cite web |title=Adrian Matejka |url=https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/adrian-matejka |website=Poetry Foundation |access-date=May 5, 2026}}</ref><ref name="IllinoisPoetLaureate">{{cite web |title=Adrian Matejka |url=https://poetlaureate.illinois.gov/past-features/featured-poet-matejka.html |website=Illinois Poet Laureate |publisher=State of Illinois |access-date=May 5, 2026}}</ref><ref name="UnitedStatesArtists" />
==Works== ===Poetry collections=== * ''The Devil's Garden''. Alice James Books. 2003. {{ISBN|9781882295418}}.<ref name="AJB-DevilsGarden">{{cite web |title=The Devil's Garden |url=https://www.alicejamesbooks.org/backlist/devilsgarden |website=Alice James Books |access-date=May 5, 2026}}</ref> * ''Mixology''. Penguin Books. 2009. {{ISBN|9780143115830}}.<ref name="PRH-Mixology">{{cite web |title=Mixology by Adrian Matejka |url=https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/305265/mixology-by-adrian-matejka/ |website=PenguinRandomHouse.com |publisher=Penguin Random House |access-date=May 5, 2026}}</ref> * ''The Big Smoke''. Penguin Books. 2013. {{ISBN|9780143123729}}.<ref name="PRH-BigSmoke">{{cite web |title=The Big Smoke by Adrian Matejka |url=https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/313443/the-big-smoke-by-adrian-matejka/ |website=PenguinRandomHouse.com |publisher=Penguin Random House |access-date=May 5, 2026}}</ref> * ''Map to the Stars''. Penguin Books. 2017. {{ISBN|9780143130574}}.<ref name="PRH-MapStars">{{cite web |title=Map to the Stars by Adrian Matejka |url=https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/548813/map-to-the-stars-by-adrian-matejka/ |website=PenguinRandomHouse.com |publisher=Penguin Random House |access-date=May 5, 2026}}</ref> * ''Somebody Else Sold the World''. Penguin Books. 2021. {{ISBN|9780143136446}}.<ref name="PRH-SomebodyElse">{{cite web |title=Somebody Else Sold the World by Adrian Matejka |url=https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/670033/somebody-else-sold-the-world-by-adrian-matejka/ |website=PenguinRandomHouse.com |publisher=Penguin Random House |access-date=May 5, 2026}}</ref> * ''Be Easy: New and Selected Poems''. Liveright. 2026. {{ISBN|9781324097501}}.<ref name="Norton-BeEasy">{{cite web |title=Be Easy |url=https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324097501 |website=W. W. Norton & Company |access-date=May 5, 2026}}</ref>
===Graphic nonfiction=== * ''Last on His Feet: Jack Johnson and the Battle of the Century'', with Youssef Daoudi. Liveright. 2023. {{ISBN|9781631495588}}.<ref name="PW-LastOnHisFeet">{{cite web |title=Last on His Feet: Jack Johnson and the Battle of the Century |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/9781631495588 |website=Publishers Weekly |access-date=May 5, 2026}}</ref>
===Anthology contributions=== * "Understanding Al Green", in Toi Derricotte, Cornelius Eady and Camille T. Dungy, eds., ''Gathering Ground: A Reader Celebrating Cave Canem's First Decade''. University of Michigan Press. 2006. {{ISBN|9780472069248}}.<ref name="GatheringGround">{{cite web |title=Gathering Ground: A Reader Celebrating Cave Canem's First Decade |url=https://silverbox.gmu.edu/dscff/s/aaaw/item/872 |website=Anthologies of African American Writing |publisher=George Mason University |access-date=May 5, 2026}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
== External links == * {{Official website|http://www.adrianmatejka.com}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20121124023845/http://iub.edu/~mfawrite/faculty/ Indiana University faculty website]
{{IN Poets Laureate|state=autocollapse}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Matejka, Adrian}} Category:1971 births Category:Living people Category:African-American poets Category:American male poets Category:Southern Illinois University alumni Category:Writers from Eugene, Oregon Category:Poets from Illinois Category:Poets from Oregon Category:Indiana University faculty Category:American expatriates in Germany Category:Articles containing video clips Category:21st-century African-American writers Category:21st-century American poets