John Keene

About the Author

John Keene is a distinguished author, translator, and professor whose work explores the intersections of race, language, and identity in contemporary literature. A MacArthur Fellow and winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award, Keene's writing bridges poetry, fiction, and criticism, drawing on innovative forms to amplify marginalized voices. His editorial contributions, including the acclaimed anthology What I Say: Innovative Poetry by Black Writers in America (Modern & Contemporary Poetics), showcase his commitment to preserving and promoting groundbreaking Black poetic traditions. As a faculty member at Rutgers University-Newark, Keene continues to influence a new generation of writers through his incisive scholarship and boundary-pushing narratives.