The Big Smoke

A suite of poems examining the myth and history of the legendary prizefighter Jack Johnson--a finalist for both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award--from 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.


Author: Adrian Matejka
Publisher: Penguin Books
Published: 05/28/2013
Pages: 128
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.3lbs
Size: 8.20h x 5.40w x 0.50d
ISBN: 9780143123729
Audience: Young Adult


Award: National Book Awards - Finalist
Award: Hurston/Wright LEGACY Award - Nominee
Award: Pulitzer Prize - Finalist


Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 12/02/2013

About the Author
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; and The Devil's Garden (Alice James Books, 2003), winner of the New York / New England Award. 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 lives in Indianapolis, Indiana.