Matthew Johnson

Poet

Greensboro, NC
North Carolina US
Twitter/X: 

Author's Bio

Matthew is the author of the poetry collection, Far from New York State (New York Quarterly Press) and Shadow Folk and Soul Songs (Kelsay Books).

Among selected journals, Matthew's poetry has appeared or is forthcoming in Albany Poets, Anti-Heroin Chic Magazine, Aethlon: Journal of Sports Literature, Delta Poetry Review, Hudson Valley Writers Guild, Jerry Jazz Musician, Kissing Dynamite Poetry,  London Magazine, The Maryland Literary Review, NY Quarterly, Maudlin House, The New Southern Fugitives, The Roanoke Review, The Sport Literate, South Florida Poetry Journal, Twin Bill, Valley Voices, and The Westchester Review. He is the managing editor of The Portrait of New England and the poetry editor at The Twin Bill and has received nominations for the Pushcart Prize and the Best of the Net.

Formerly a sports journalist and editor, he has written for The Carolinian, Fansided, The Daily Star (Oneonta, NY), and the USA Today College, and has been a contributor on radio (WUAG 103.1). 

A native of New Rochelle, New York, and raised in Stratford, Connecticut, he now lives in Greensboro, North Carolina, after earning his MA in English from UNC-Greensboro. 

Find him on Twitter: @Matt_Johnson_D or visit his website: www.matthewjohnsonpoetry.com

Publications & Prizes

Books:
Far from New York State (NYQ Books, 2023)
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Shadow Folk and Soul Songs (Kelsay Books, 2019)
Journals:
Aethlon: The Journal of Sport Literature
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Amistad
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Delta Poetry Review
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First Literary Review-East
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Front Porch Review
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Ink In Thirds
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Jerry Jazz Musician
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Maryland Literary Review
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Plum Tree Tavern
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Remington Review
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Rye Whiskey Review
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Spitball
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Sport Literate
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The Dead Mule School of Southern Literature
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The New York Quarterly
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Third Wednesday
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Twin Bill: A Literary Baseball Publication
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Westchester Review
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Yellow Chair Review
Prizes won: 

2023 Pushcart Nominee (nominated by The Decolonial Passage)

2017, 2021, 2023, 2024 Best of the Net Nominee (nominated by The Roanoke Review, The Twin Bill, Roi Fainéant Press respectively)

Nominee in The Sport Literate's "Fight Contest"

Nominee on Poetry Category of The Lyre's 2022 Issue

Personal Favorites

Favorite authors: 
Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, Georgia Douglas Johnson, Jean Toomer, Carl Sandburg, Emily Dickinson, Mark Twain, Frederick Douglass, Washington Irving, John Steinbeck, Herman Melville, Dan Gutman, Kevin Young, Nikki Giovani, Sonia Sanchez, August Wilson, Karen Hesse, Henry Louis Gates Jr., Jane Leavy.
What I'm reading now: 
A Celebration of Western New York Poets by Patricia Tansey

More Information

Gives readings: 
Yes
Travels for readings: 
Yes
Identifies as: 
African American
Prefers to work with: 
Any
Fluent in: 
English
Born in: 
New Rochelle, NY
New York
Raised in: 
Stratford, CT
Connecticut
Please note: All information in the Directory is provided by the listed writers or their representatives.
Last update: Feb 17, 2024