Marcus Wicker
EducationIndiana University
Occupation(s)Poet, professor
EmployerUniversity of Memphis
Notable workMaybe the Saddest Thing
Silencer
AwardsNational Poetry Series Prize
Pushcart Prize
Websitewww.marcuswicker.com

Marcus Wicker is an American poet. He won the 2011 National Poetry Series Prize for his collection Maybe the Saddest Thing and a 2014 Pushcart Prize for his poem "Interrupting Aubade Ending In Epiphany". He teaches creative writing in the MFA program at the University of Memphis.

Early life and education

Wicker has described taking to writing at an early age, beginning with mystery stories and personal journals in elementary school and then encountering poetry thanks to his tenth grade English teacher who took his class to the National Youth Poetry Slam at the University of Michigan. Seeing students his own age perform their writing encouraged Wicker to pursue his own work.[1] He earned an MFA from Indiana University in 2010.[2]

Career

Wicker's debut collection Maybe the Saddest Thing won the 2011 National Poetry Series Prize, selected by D.A. Powell.[3] The 79-page collection, published with Harper Perennial,[4] was also a nominee for the NAACP Image Award for Literary Work - Poetry.[5] Reviewing the book in Slate, Jonathan Farmer wrote, "In both sound and sense, Wicker nails the terrible courage of standing out and dignifies it with an abrupt austerity."[6] In Muzzle Magazine, Kendra DeColo said the collection "celebrates the messy and uncomfortable," offering "Failure [as] a sacred contract, giving us permission to enter the poems as imperfect beings, to stumble as we question and interact with issues the poems explore."[7]

In 2011, Wicker was a Ruth Lilly Fellow.[8] He won a 2014 Pushcart Prize for his poem, "Interrupting Aubade Ending In Epiphany",[9] originally published in the Southern Indiana Review (Spring 2012), and the Missouri Review's 2016 Miller Audio Prize Contest for his poem "Watch us Elocute", originally published in the Boston Review.[10]

Wicker's second collection, Silencer, appeared with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt on September 5, 2017.[11][12]

In 2012, Wicker began teaching English at the University of Southern Indiana.[13] He is now on the creative writing faculty in the MFA program at the University of Memphis.[14]

References

  1. ↑ Read, Ben. "Issue Fourteen: Ben Read speaks with Marcus Wicker". The Adroit Journal (14). Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  2. ↑ "Publications from M.F.A. alumni". Department of English. Indiana University. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  3. ↑ "Fiction Book Review: Maybe the Saddest Thing by Marcus Wicker. HarperCollins, $13.99 trade paper (96p) ISBN 978-0-06-219101-4". Publishers Weekly. November 26, 2012. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
  4. ↑ Ripatrazone, Nick. "Recommended Books Maybe the Saddest Thing by Marcus Wicker". Third Coast Magazine. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
  5. ↑ Sandell, Scott (11 December 2012). "NAACP Image Awards: The complete nominations list". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
  6. ↑ Farmer, Jonathan (4 January 2013). "Love Letters to Kenny G, Dave Chappelle, and RuPaul". Slate. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
  7. ↑ DeColo, Kendra. "Marcus Wicker Review". MUZZLE MAGAZINE. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
  8. ↑ Lim, Kathryne (April 7, 2014). "Poets On The Rise: Eight Poets to Watch For – Blue Mesa Review". Blue Mesa Review. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
  9. ↑ Henderson, Bill (2014). Pushcart Prize XXXVIII: best of the small presses, 2014. OCLC 829989392. Retrieved 16 July 2017 – via WorldCat.
  10. ↑ "2016 Audio Contest Winner in Poetry: Marcus Wicker". The Missouri Review Soundbooth. June 16, 2016. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
  11. ↑ Crowley, Alex (June 23, 2017). "Fall 2017 Announcements: Poetry". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
  12. ↑ "Fiction Book Review: Silencer by Marcus Wicker. Mariner, $15.99 trade paper (96p) ISBN 978-1-328-71554-8". Publishers Weekly. August 21, 2017. Retrieved 2017-10-26.
  13. ↑ Mcbain, Roger (February 6, 2014). "Poets take their corners as featured contenders in Arts Council's main event , Friday". Evansville Courier & Press. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  14. ↑ "Creative Writing Faculty". University of Memphis. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
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