Matthew Johnson

Poet

Greensboro, NC
North Carolina US
Twitter/X: 

Author's Bio

Matthew Johnson is an award-nominated poet, editor, and publisher; he is the author of the poetry collections, Shadow Folk and Soul Songs (Kelsay Books), Far From New York State (New York Quarterly Press), and his latest book, a chapbook, Too Short to Box with God (Finishing Line Press), which is available for purchase.

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, Heavy Feather 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, 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.  Learn more at 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)
Chapbook:
Too Short to Box with God (Finishing Line Press, 2024)
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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Heavy Feather 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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Paddock 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 Lake
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The New York Quarterly
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The Piker Press
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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: 

Best of the Net Nominee (2017, 2020, 2022, 2023), Finalist in 2019 Fight Contest - The Sport Literate, Grand View University's Diverse Voices Book Award Finalist (2023), Hudson Valley Writers Center Scholarship Recipient (2024), Pushcart Prize Nominee (2023), Sundress Publications Writing Resident (2023), and Third Place in Poetry Contest - The Lyre (2022).

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: 
Till the End by C.C. Sabathia

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: Aug 30, 2024