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Mat Johnson
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Mat Johnson (born August 19, 1970, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American fiction writer who works in both prose and the comics format. In 2007, he was named the first USA James Baldwin Fellow by United States Artists.[1]
Key Information
Life and career
[edit]This section of a biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. (December 2016) |
Johnson was born and raised in the Germantown and Mount Airy communities in Philadelphia.[2]
His mother is African-American and his father is Irish Catholic. Johnson attended Abington Friends School,[3] Greene Street Friends School, West Chester University, University of Wales, Swansea, and ultimately received his B.A. from Earlham College. In 1993 he was awarded a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship. Johnson received his M.F.A. from Columbia University School of the Arts in 1999.[4]
Johnson has taught at Rutgers University, Columbia University, Bard College, and The Callaloo Journal Writers Retreat. He was a faculty member at the University of Houston Creative Writing Program. He is currently a professor at the University of Oregon's Creative Writing Program.[5]
Johnson's first novel, Drop (2000), was a coming-of-age novel about a self-hating Philadelphian who thinks he has found his escape when he takes a job at a Brixton-based advertising agency in London, UK. The work was a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers selection; Interview magazine named Johnson as a "Writer on the Verge"; and Drop was listed among "Best Novels of the Year" by Progressive Magazine.[citation needed]
In 2003, Johnson published Hunting in Harlem (2003), a satire about gentrification in Harlem and an exploration of belief versus fanaticism. Hunting in Harlem won the Zora Neale Hurston/Richard Wright Legacy Award for Novel of the Year in 2004.[6]
Johnson made his first move into the comics form with the publication of the five-issue limited series Hellblazer Special: Papa Midnite (Vertigo 2005), where he took an existing character of the Hellblazer franchise and created an origin story that strove to offer depth and dignity to a character who was arguably a racial stereotype of the noble savage. The work was set in 18th-century Manhattan, and was based on the research that Johnson was conducting for his first historical work, The Great Negro Plot.[citation needed]
The Great Negro Plot is a creative nonfiction that recounts the New York Slave Insurrection of 1741 and the resultant trial and hysteria.[7]
In February 2008, Vertigo Comics published Johnson's graphic novel Incognegro, a noir mystery that deals with the issue of passing and the lynching past of the American South. The work is illustrated by British artist Warren Pleece with cover artwork by Stephen John Phillips.[8]
From 2006 to 2007, Johnson wrote the blog Niggerati Manor, which discussed African-American literature and culture.[citation needed]
Awards
[edit]In 2004, Johnson's Hunting in Harlem won the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award.[9]
Johnson was named a 2007 USA James Baldwin Fellow[10] and awarded a $50,000 grant by United States Artists, a public charity that supports and promotes the work of American artists. On September 21, 2011, Johnson was awarded the Dos Passos Prize for Literature for his body of work focused on American themes and the human experience.[11]
Works
[edit]Comics
[edit]- Hellblazer Special: Papa Midnite (Vertigo, 5-issue limited series, 2005; tpb, 2006, ISBN 1-4012-1003-1)
- Incognegro (Vertigo, graphic novel, 2008, hardcover, ISBN 1-4012-1097-X)
- Dark Rain: A New Orleans Story[12] (Vertigo, graphic novel, 2010, 160 pages, ISBN 978-1-4012-2160-7)
- Right State[13] (Vertigo, graphic novel, 2012, 144 pages, ISBN 1-4012-2943-3)
- Incognegro: Renaissance[14] (Vertigo, graphic novel, 2018, 128 pages, ISBN 978-1506705637)
- Backflash (Berger Books, graphic novel, 2024, 104 pages, ISBN 9781506745107)
Novels
[edit]- Drop (Bloomsbury USA, 2000)
- Hunting in Harlem (Bloomsbury USA, 2003)
- Pym (Random/Spiegel & Grau, 2011)
- Loving Day (Spiegel & Grau, 2015)
- Invisible Things (One World, 2022)
Nonfiction
[edit]- The Great Negro Plot (Bloomsbury USA, 2007)
Anthologies
[edit]- Gumbo: Anthology of African American Literature (Harlem Moon, 2002)
- Not Guilty: Twelve Black Men Speak Out on Law, Justice, and Life (Amistad Press, 2002)
- Mixed: An Anthology of Short Fiction on the Multiracial Experience (W. W. Norton, 2006)
- Black Cool: One Thousand Streams of Blackness (Soft Skull Press, February 2012)[15][16]
References
[edit]- ^ "United States Artists » Mat Johnson". Archived from the original on March 3, 2024. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
- ^ Gross, Terry. “Writer Mat Johnson On 'Loving Day' And Life As A 'Black Boy' Who Looks White” Fresh Air, NPR, 29 June. 2015, https://www.npr.org/2016/09/16/494234198/writer-mat-johnson-on-loving-day-and-life-as-a-black-boy-who-looks-white Archived November 19, 2023, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Shengold, Nina. "Harlem Renaissance Man". Chronogram Magazine. Archived from the original on March 3, 2024. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
- ^ "Mat Johnson | Creative Writing Program". crwr.uoregon.edu. Archived from the original on September 20, 2022. Retrieved August 30, 2022.
- ^ "Mat Johnson | Creative Writing Program". crwr.uoregon.edu. Archived from the original on September 20, 2022. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
- ^ "Legacy Awards". Hurston/Wright Foundation. Archived from the original on December 7, 2023. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
- ^ Johnson Tells the Unknown Origin of "Hellblazer's" Papa Midnite in New Mini Archived March 3, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, Comic Book Resources, February 2, 2005.
- ^ Mat Johnson on Incognegro[dead link], newsarama.com, November 29, 2007.
- ^ "The Hurston/Wright Legacy Award". African American Literature Book Club. Archived from the original on March 31, 2023. Retrieved April 29, 2024.
- ^ "About the Artists & Writers," African-American Classics, Graphic Classics vol. 22 (Eureka Productions, 2011).
- ^ Emery, Mike. "2011 DOS PASSOS PRIZE AWARDED TO UH PROFESSOR MAT JOHNSON: AWARD RECOGNIZES AUTHORS WITH WORKS FOCUSED ON AMERICAN THEMES, HUMAN EXPERIENCE" Archived October 11, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, University of Houston website (September 12, 2011).
- ^ Staff (August 9, 2010). "Dark Rain: A New Orleans Story". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on August 22, 2010. Retrieved September 12, 2012.
- ^ Gallaher, Valerie (August 8, 2012). "Review: Vertigo's 'Right State' A Tense And Topical Thriller Pulled Straight From The Headlines". MTV Geek. Archived from the original on January 27, 2013. Retrieved September 12, 2012.
- ^ Alverson, Brigid (January 15, 2018). "Racial Drama Incognegro Returns with New Edition, Prequel Miniseries". CBR. Archived from the original on January 29, 2021. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
- ^ Staff (December 12, 2011). "Black Cool: One Thousand Streams of Blackness Archived February 14, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. Edited by Rebecca Walker.", Publishers Weekly.
- ^ Staff (December 15, 2011). "BLACK COOL – A collection of essays focused on the "cool" cultural legacy of African-Americans." Archived July 13, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, Kirkus Reviews.
External links
[edit]- Official website
- Literary Criticism of Hunting in Harlem
- Profile of Mat Johnson
- "'Great Negro Plot' Tells of Manhattan on the Edge", News and Notes, National Public Radio, February 7, 2007. (Links to RealPlayer or Windows Media Audio)
- "Rumors of a Slave Revolt", Leonard Lopate Show, WNYC, February 28, 2007. (Links to MP3 audio)
- Mat Johnson's United States Artist Page
- James Baldwin Foundation Fellows 2007
- United States Artists Arts Advocacy Organization.
Mat Johnson
View on GrokipediaMat Johnson is an American novelist and graphic novelist born to an Irish-American father and an African-American mother, raised primarily by his mother in the Philadelphia area.[1][2] His works, including the novels Drop (2000), Hunting in Harlem (2003), Pym (2011), and Loving Day (2015), as well as the graphic novel Incognegro, often satirize racial tribalism, identity politics, and historical narratives within African American contexts.[3][4] Johnson holds an MFA from Columbia University and has taught creative writing at institutions such as the University of Houston.[5][6] Johnson's notable achievements include the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award for Hunting in Harlem, which critiques gentrification in Harlem, and the American Book Award for Loving Day, a novel examining mixed-race heritage and family dynamics.[7][3] He was the first recipient of the United States Artists James Baldwin Fellowship in 2007 and later received the John Dos Passos Prize for Literature, recognizing his contributions to American fiction through incisive social commentary.[3][8] His graphic works, such as Incognegro, delve into themes of racial passing and journalism in the Jim Crow South, blending historical fiction with visual storytelling.[4]
Early Life and Education
Family Background and Upbringing
Mat Johnson was born on August 19, 1970, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to an African American mother and an Irish American father.[9][10] His parents divorced when he was four years old, after which he was raised primarily by his mother in predominantly black neighborhoods, including Germantown and Mount Airy.[9][10][11] As a biracial child, Johnson identified with black culture and community despite his light complexion, which often led others to perceive him as white.[9][10] He has described his upbringing as immersed in black Philadelphia life, shaped by his mother's influence and the social dynamics of those urban areas, where racial identity was affirmed through community ties rather than appearance alone.[12][11] This environment fostered his early sense of belonging within black American experiences, even as his mixed heritage introduced personal tensions around visibility and acceptance.[10][9]Academic Training and Influences
Mat Johnson began his undergraduate studies at a local state college before participating in a year-long foreign exchange program at the University of Wales at Swansea during his sophomore year.[13] He then transferred to Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana, for his junior and senior years, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in English.[14] [15] At Earlham, a Quaker institution, Johnson served as president of the Black Student Union and received the Thomas J. Watson Fellowship in recognition of his leadership; the fellowship funded research into the effects of international experiences on African Americans.[13] Johnson pursued graduate studies in creative writing at Columbia University School of the Arts, obtaining a Master of Fine Arts in fiction in 1999.[16] [17] Key academic influences during his MFA included instruction from established authors Michael Cunningham and Maureen Howard, whose workshops shaped his approach to narrative craft.[17] In Cunningham's seminar, Johnson met Victor D. LaValle, forming a enduring writing partnership that provided mutual critique and support amid their shared focus on fiction exploring racial and cultural themes.[13] This collaborative environment at Columbia reinforced Johnson's commitment to blending satirical elements with social observation in his prose.[17]Professional Career
Academic Positions and Teaching
Johnson began his academic career teaching creative writing shortly after receiving his MFA from Columbia University in 1997, initially as an instructor at Columbia itself before moving to Bard College. He also held teaching positions at Rutgers University and served as faculty for the Callaloo Journal Writers Retreat. From 2007 to 2018, Johnson served as an associate professor in the Creative Writing Program at the University of Houston, where he taught courses including a Graphic Novel Workshop that guided students in visual storytelling and narrative development. In 2018, he joined the University of Oregon as a professor in the Creative Writing Program within the Department of English. At Oregon, Johnson was appointed the Philip H. Knight Chair of the Humanities in 2021, a position that supports his work in comics and cartoon studies alongside creative writing instruction. His teaching there focuses on the interplay of race, society, and narrative forms in literature and graphic media, integrating satirical and historical perspectives drawn from his publications. Johnson has emphasized practical workshops that blend prose fiction with comics, fostering student projects that explore complex social themes through hybrid formats.Entry into Publishing and Key Milestones
Johnson's entry into publishing began with the release of his debut novel Drop in September 2000, issued by Bloomsbury USA as a hardcover exploring a young Black man's internal conflicts and attempted escape from Philadelphia's urban environment.[18] [19] The novel established Johnson's voice in literary fiction, focusing on racial self-hatred and personal reinvention through a narrative blending satire and introspection.[17] A key early milestone followed with his second novel, Hunting in Harlem, published on May 14, 2003, by Bloomsbury USA, which satirized gentrification in Harlem via a treasure-hunting plot involving former convicts.[20] [21] The book earned the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award for fiction, recognizing its sharp social commentary on racial displacement and economic disparity in post-1990s New York.[7] Johnson expanded into comics in 2005 with the five-issue Hellblazer Special: Papa Midnite for DC/Vertigo, adapting his prose style to graphic storytelling centered on the folklore figure's New York origins.[3] A further milestone came in 2008 with Incognegro: A Graphic Mystery, published by Vertigo, which depicted a light-skinned Black journalist passing as white to cover lynchings in the Jim Crow South, blending historical realism with thriller elements.[22] In 2007, he received the United States Artists James Baldwin Fellowship, supporting his interdisciplinary approach.[3]The 2011 publication of Pym by Spiegel & Grau marked a pinnacle, reimagining Edgar Allan Poe's The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym as a satirical quest for a hidden Antarctic utopia by a Black literature professor, earning the American Book Award for its inventive critique of race and American exceptionalism.[23] [24] This work solidified Johnson's reputation for genre-bending narratives, bridging literary fiction with adventure parody.[3]
