The Big Smoke (Penguin Poets) - Softcover

Matejka, Adrian

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0143123726 ISBN 13: 9780143123729

Publisher: The Penguin Press, 2013

Synopsis

A suite of poems examining the myth and history of the legendary prizefighter Jack Johnson--a finalist for both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award--from the author, with Youssef Daoudi, of the graphic novel Last on His Feet: Jack Johnson and the Battle of the Century

The legendary Jack Johnson (1878-1946) was a true American creation. The child of emancipated slaves, he overcame the violent segregationism of Jim Crow, challenging white boxers--and white America--to become the first African-American heavyweight world champion. The Big Smoke, Adrian Matejka's third work of poetry, follows the fighter's journey from poverty to the most coveted title in sports through the multi-layered voices of Johnson and the white women he brazenly loved. Matejka's book is part historic reclamation and part interrogation of Johnson's complicated legacy, one that often misremembers the magnetic man behind the myth.

About this title

About the Author

Adrian Matejka's most recent collection of poetry is Somebody Else Sold the World. His other books are Map to the Stars; The Big Smoke, which was the winner of the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award and a finalist for both the National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize; Mixology, which was selected for the National Poetry Series; and The Devil's Garden (Alice James Books, 2003), winner of the New York / New England Award. Among Matejka's other honors are fellowships from the Academy of American Poets, the Guggenheim Foundation, the Lannan Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and United States Artists. He served as Poet Laureate of the state of Indiana in 2018-19 and lives in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Edition details

• Publisher: The Penguin Press
• Publication date: 2013
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0143123726
• ISBN 13: 9780143123729
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 128