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The Big Smoke
[Paperback - 2013]
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Category: Literature
Sub-category: Poetry
Publisher: Penguin Books | ISBN: 9780143123729 | Pages: 128
Shipping Weight: .13 | Dimensions: 5.49 x .36 x 8.4 inches

A suite of poems examining the myth and history of the legendary prizefighter Jack Johnsona finalist for both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Awardfrom 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.

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; The Devil's Garden (Alice James Books, 2003), winner of the New York / New England Award; and Last On His Feet: Jack Johnson and the Battle of the Century, a graphic portrait of the boxing legend Jack Johnson. 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 now lives in Chicago, where he is Editor of Poetry Magazine.

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