Meet Adrian Matejka, the primary Black editor to steer Poetry journal in its 110-year historical past

Adrian Matejka, Indiana’s poet laureate from 2018-2019, continues to be attempting to determine Chicago’s bus system. He laughs about lacking his bus heading to the Poetry Basis on Superior Road as a result of a brand new neighbor acknowledged him and mentioned, “I like poetry, and heard that you just’re the brand new editor. Let’s discuss.”

He graciously launched himself and Matejka supplied his because of the neighbor for supporting poetry. As he left his constructing, he watched the bus drive away.

“I ended up sitting on the market pouring sweat with a swimsuit coat on within the solar and made it right here — sooner than y’all did, fortunately, so I used to be capable of cool down. For those who had been right here 10 minutes earlier, you’d have thought: ‘Man, this man is in over his head,’” he mentioned.

Matejka is laid again with a lilting voice that one can solely surmise comes from years of honing his craft in public readings. The listing of writing awards he’s been nominated for is lengthy: His third assortment of poems, “The Large Smoke,” was a finalist for the 2013 Nationwide E book Award, the 2014 Hurston/Wright Legacy Award and the 2014 Pulitzer Prize in poetry, whereas his most up-to-date assortment of poems, “Anyone Else Offered the World,” was a finalist for the 2022 Rilke Prize.

Now, the Indiana College at Bloomington Ruth Lilly professor in English can also be Poetry journal’s first Black editor in its 110-year historical past. His arrival comes after Michelle Boone in 2021 turned president of the nonprofit Poetry Basis, which oversees the journal. She is the primary girl and particular person of colour to steer the establishment.

Matejka takes the editorship after the Poetry Basis got here underneath fireplace for its preliminary response to protests following George Floyd’s demise in 2020 and what some perceived as a sluggish response in offering monetary help to artists throughout the pandemic. In June 2020, Poetry Basis President Henry Bienen resigned after greater than 1,800 folks signed an open letter denouncing the muse for failing to do extra to help marginalized artists. Since then, the muse issued a plan to work towards long-term fairness and expanded grant funding.

“It’s wild to be the primary Black editor … to be the primary editor of colour in any respect, it’s an exquisite honor and likewise factors to the difficult legacy of this journal,” Matejka mentioned. “It’s such a central establishment to the work that poets do and on the identical time, for a very long time, it was extremely homogenistic.” He mentioned it’s not that dissimilar to the laureateship in Indiana within the sense of a much bigger arts group/entity not likely fascinated about range or the way to be consultant in these communities till the previous 10 years.

“When Gwendolyn Brooks gained the Pulitzer in poetry in 1950, there wasn’t one other Black Pulitzer Prize winner till Rita Dove in 1987. There are lengthy stretches between these acknowledgments and in between the establishments, they’re catering to the individuals who cater to them,” Matejka mentioned. “For a really very long time, poetry — the artwork — was simply highlighting white males, often a white girl, an motion that displays our nation’s resistance to range. The advantage of a democracy is that you probably have plenty of voters of colour, they will vote for candidates of colour, however that’s not how arts organizations work. It’s not how literary journals work. It’s not how magazines work; however now they do. Michelle is right here; our workers is extremely various and we’re all holding palms in frequent trigger to make (the journal) look extra like what our neighborhood seems like.”

We spoke with Matejka on the Poetry Basis constructing about his plans as editor of Poetry journal earlier than his first subject is launched in October. The interview has been condensed and edited for readability.

Q: Did this place seem to be segue after the laureateship or did you see a possibility and apply for it?

It’s type of in between these issues. I left the laureateship after my two years. COVID occurred, however I used to be nonetheless instructing. After which this chance introduced itself. … After they first interviewed me, I wasn’t certain if it was the best job for me, however I hadn’t talked to Michelle and I hadn’t met the board or the present workers on the journal. I simply was fascinated about that (open) letter, fascinated about the work that was concerned in that and attempting to determine how I would situate myself as a poet but in addition as somebody who thinks about neighborhood on a regular basis and thinks about what I can do to help poetry on the earth.

Q: Are you able to share your objectives for this place? Everyone knows cultural change takes time.

I’m fortunate as a result of the workers with the muse and journal are all dedicated to that (change). It makes it a little bit bit simpler to begin to consider the way to have an effect on it when everyone seems to be in settlement that we have to make some modifications. Now we have now to determine what that change seems like.

For me, it begins with the journal and the way it’s positioned on the earth, within the pages. And who’re we creating area for on these pages who haven’t been in there earlier than? We’re dedicated to attempting to have a 3rd of every journal be individuals who haven’t been printed in it earlier than, and that is an ongoing factor.

One of many issues I made a decision we have been going to do as {a magazine} is as an alternative of attempting to determine the way to rectify all of the omissions and erasures which have occurred over the lengthy historical past of the 110 years of this journal, we’re going to concentrate on determining the way to spotlight the folks that ought to have been there to begin with.

Within the first subject, there’s going to be a folio of poet Carolyn Rodgers, who’s from Chicago, an outstanding poet and was by no means within the journal, and he or she’s a part of the Black Arts Motion.

Q: With the cultural shift, there’s additionally the constructing of belief. For many who’ve been unseen for thus lengthy, how do you inform them the journal is working to realize their belief?

It’s already exhibiting within the journal; folks aren’t trying in the identical method. I hope they may look now. We received a Black president. We’ve received a Black editor. That not solely seems totally different within the workers room, it seems totally different within the pages too. We are able to’t actually inform them something that’s going to persuade skeptics that change has occurred, however once they see it, after we present them by means of our programming and within the pages themselves, that’s after I assume all of it begins to turn into clear that it is a entire different Poetry Basis.

Q: Was there any hesitation in your half in steering this transformation?

The problem for me was attempting to determine whether or not or not I may very well be steward of this journal, whereas additionally caring for my very own work and the way that will have an effect on me, the human being. I’ve been an editor earlier than full time and I wasn’t capable of finding a approach to write. One of many issues that I used to be fascinated about with this job was that possibly there’s a special model of writing I’m purported to be doing now. Proper now’s a time the place the type of creating I’m doing is creating areas for folks and making alternatives for others. And if I stroll away from that, what sort of particular person does that make me? Who am I on the earth after I was being supplied this chance to have entry to those assets and to have a platform in Poetry journal to showcase poetry on the earth? I’m gonna say “No, I’m good?” I’m going to work by myself poems?

That may be a completely acceptable resolution to make and I’m certain some folks did, who have been approached concerning the job. It’s not that I don’t perceive that. It’s simply that so many individuals helped me as I used to be developing as a author and a scholar, so many individuals who didn’t must take their outing to mentor me. They didn’t must take the outing to take a look at a poem. The individuals who stopped their lives to assist me, I’d be disrespecting them if I didn’t make the most of these alternatives to do this for different folks.

Q: Any plans for neighborhood outreach? For these in marginalized communities to come back to the Poetry Basis and have interaction with you?

There are two competing issues: unbelievable want in our neighborhood for publicity, entry to training about poetry, and there’s a starvation for it. After which there are a variety of people that try this work, however then they overextend themselves attempting to determine the way to do it. And at a spot just like the Poetry Basis, it turns into a query of how do you get right here? Are we going to be obtainable in that second?

One of many issues that I want to do with the journal is flip it outward, and we’re going to folks versus them coming to us. That’s going to contain the workers. However plenty of that, not less than in my imaginative and prescient going ahead, goes to contain contributors and neighborhood members who’re already doing this work and we will help them as a result of we will’t do all of it by ourselves. That’s what I discovered as a laureate. … I believe that’s the best way we’re going to be — not solely attempting to do the work ourselves however looking for methods to create connections and create entry by means of current organizations.

drockett@chicagotribune.com