Mat Johnson
Mat Johnson | |
---|---|
University of Wales, Swansea | |
Alma mater | Earlham College (BA) Columbia University School of the Arts (MFA) |
Notable works | Pym (2011) Incognegro (2008) Loving Day (2015) |
Website | |
matjohnson |
Mat Johnson (born August 19, 1970, in
Life and career
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Johnson was born and raised in the
His mother is
Johnson has taught at
Johnson's first novel, Drop (2000), was a coming-of-age novel about a self-hating Philadelphian who thinks he has found his escape when he takes a job at a Brixton-based advertising agency in London, UK. The work was a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers selection; Interview magazine named Johnson as a "Writer on the Verge"; and Drop was listed among "Best Novels of the Year" by Progressive Magazine.[citation needed]
In 2003, Johnson published Hunting in Harlem (2003), a satire about gentrification in Harlem and an exploration of belief versus fanaticism. Hunting in Harlem won the Zora Neale Hurston/Richard Wright Legacy Award for Novel of the Year in 2004.[6]
Johnson made his first move into the
The Great Negro Plot is a creative nonfiction that recounts the
In February 2008, Vertigo Comics published Johnson's graphic novel Incognegro, a noir mystery that deals with the issue of passing and the lynching past of the American South. The work is illustrated by British artist Warren Pleece with cover artwork by Stephen John Phillips.[8]
From 2006 to 2007, Johnson wrote the blog Niggerati Manor, which discussed African-American literature and culture.[citation needed]
Awards
In 2004, Johnson's Hunting in Harlem won the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award.[9]
Johnson was named a 2007 USA James Baldwin Fellow[10] and awarded a $50,000 grant by United States Artists, a public charity that supports and promotes the work of American artists. On September 21, 2011, Johnson was awarded the Dos Passos Prize for Literature for his body of work focused on American themes and the human experience.[11]
Works
Comics
- ISBN 1-4012-1003-1)
- ISBN 1-4012-1097-X)
- Dark Rain: A New Orleans StoryISBN 978-1-4012-2160-7)
- Right StateISBN 1-4012-2943-3)
- Incognegro: RenaissanceISBN 978-1506705637)
Novels
- Drop (Bloomsbury USA, 2000)
- Hunting in Harlem (Bloomsbury USA, 2003)
- Pym (Random/Spiegel & Grau, 2011)
- Loving Day (Spiegel & Grau, 2015)
- Invisible Things (One World, 2022)
Nonfiction
- The Great Negro Plot (Bloomsbury USA, 2007)
Anthologies
- Gumbo: Anthology of African American Literature (Harlem Moon, 2002)
- Not Guilty: Twelve Black Men Speak Out on Law, Justice, and Life (Amistad Press, 2002)
- Mixed: An Anthology of Short Fiction on the Multiracial Experience (W. W. Norton, 2006)
- Black Cool: One Thousand Streams of Blackness (
References
- ^ "United States Artists » Mat Johnson". Archived from the original on March 3, 2024. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
- ^ Gross, Terry. “Writer Mat Johnson On 'Loving Day' And Life As A 'Black Boy' Who Looks White” Fresh Air, NPR, 29 June. 2015, https://www.npr.org/2016/09/16/494234198/writer-mat-johnson-on-loving-day-and-life-as-a-black-boy-who-looks-white Archived November 19, 2023, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Shengold, Nina. "Harlem Renaissance Man". Chronogram Magazine. Archived from the original on March 3, 2024. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
- ^ "Mat Johnson | Creative Writing Program". crwr.uoregon.edu. Archived from the original on September 20, 2022. Retrieved August 30, 2022.
- ^ "Mat Johnson | Creative Writing Program". crwr.uoregon.edu. Archived from the original on September 20, 2022. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
- ^ "Legacy Awards". Hurston/Wright Foundation. Archived from the original on December 7, 2023. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
- ^ Johnson Tells the Unknown Origin of "Hellblazer's" Papa Midnite in New Mini Archived March 3, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, Comic Book Resources, February 2, 2005.
- ^ Mat Johnson on Incognegro[permanent dead link], newsarama.com, November 29, 2007.
- African American Literature Book Club. Archivedfrom the original on March 31, 2023. Retrieved April 29, 2024.
- ^ "About the Artists & Writers," African-American Classics, Graphic Classics vol. 22 (Eureka Productions, 2011).
- ^ Emery, Mike. "2011 DOS PASSOS PRIZE AWARDED TO UH PROFESSOR MAT JOHNSON: AWARD RECOGNIZES AUTHORS WITH WORKS FOCUSED ON AMERICAN THEMES, HUMAN EXPERIENCE" Archived October 11, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, University of Houston website (September 12, 2011).
- ^ Staff (August 9, 2010). "Dark Rain: A New Orleans Story". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on August 22, 2010. Retrieved September 12, 2012.
- ^ Gallaher, Valerie (August 8, 2012). "Review: Vertigo's 'Right State' A Tense And Topical Thriller Pulled Straight From The Headlines". MTV Geek. Archived from the original on January 27, 2013. Retrieved September 12, 2012.
- ^ Alverson, Brigid (January 15, 2018). "Racial Drama Incognegro Returns with New Edition, Prequel Miniseries". CBR. Archived from the original on January 29, 2021. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
- ^ Staff (December 12, 2011). "Black Cool: One Thousand Streams of Blackness Archived February 14, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. Edited by Rebecca Walker.", Publishers Weekly.
- ^ Staff (December 15, 2011). "BLACK COOL – A collection of essays focused on the "cool" cultural legacy of African-Americans." Archived July 13, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, Kirkus Reviews.
External links
- Official website
- Literary Criticism of Hunting in Harlem
- Profile of Mat Johnson
- "'Great Negro Plot' Tells of Manhattan on the Edge", News and Notes, National Public Radio, February 7, 2007. (Links to RealPlayer or Windows Media Audio)
- "Rumors of a Slave Revolt", audio)
- Mat Johnson's United States Artist Page
- James Baldwin Foundation Fellows 2007
- United States Artists Arts Advocacy Organization.