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. 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/5(27). · THE BIG SMOKE is Adrian Matejka's masterpiece. And only his third book. Using a series of poems told from the perspective of Jack Johnson's wife and lovers and, more pointedly from the first black Heavyweight Champion's view, THE BIG SMOKE presents a sharp pocket biography/myth of this legendary and controversial sports hero/5().

The Big Smoke ☆ Adrian Matejka, The Big Smoke, Adrian Matejka, The Big Smoke A finalist for both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award in Poetry a collection that examines the myth and history of the prizefighter Jack Johnson The legendary Jack Johnson was a true American creation The child of emancipated slaves he overcame the violent segregationism of Jim Crow challenging white. Adrian Matejka was born in Nuremberg, Germany but grew up in California and Indiana. He is a graduate of Indiana University and the MFA program at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. His first collection of poems, The Devils Garden, won the Kinereth Gensler Award from Alice James Books. The Big Smoke. The Big Smoke is a marvelous, nuanced, polyphonic exploration of the life of boxer Jack Johnson, the first African-American heavyweight world champion. Matejka mimics some of the cadence and physicality of boxing in this collection—particularly in the line sonnets. A fan of the sport, Matejka was moved by this son of emancipated slaves.

Tags: Adrian Matejka, National Book Awards, poems, the Big Smoke Genre: Poetry Topic: Poetry Series Category: Online Series, Original Literature Join PEN America Today Defend free expression, support persecuted writers, and promote literary culture. THE BIG SMOKE is Adrian Matejka's masterpiece. And only his third book. Using a series of poems told from the perspective of Jack Johnson's wife and lovers and, more pointedly from the first black Heavyweight Champion's view, THE BIG SMOKE presents a sharp pocket biography/myth of this legendary and controversial sports hero. 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.