National Poetry Series
1 appearances
Matthew Rohrer
マシュー・ローラー
Matthew Rohrer
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1970-01-01 （Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States）
- Nationality
- United States
- Languages
- English
- Residence History
- Ann Arbor, Michigan (birthplace) → Oklahoma (raised) → Brooklyn, New York (residence)
Career
- Occupations
- Writer, Poet, Editor, Professor
- Active Years
- 1994-
- Affiliations
- New York University (faculty), Co-founder and poetry editor of Fence magazine, Associated with Wave Books (publisher)
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Michigan | — | Letters / Poetry | BA | — | United States |
| University of Iowa | — | Creative Writing (Poetry) | MFA | — | United States |
| University College Dublin (studies) | — | Poetry-related studies | — | — | Ireland |
University of Michigan
Letters / Poetry
Degree:
BA
Country:
United States
Won the Hopwood Award (poetry)
University of Iowa
Creative Writing (Poetry)
Degree:
MFA
Country:
United States
Studied while working nights as a janitor; wrote poems during this period
University College Dublin (studies)
Poetry-related studies
Country:
Ireland
Included a period of study as an exchange/visiting student
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | Hopwood Award (poetry) | — | — | University of Michigan | 受賞 |
| 1994 | National Poetry Series (selected) | A Hummock in the Malookas | — | National Poetry Series | 選出（Mary Oliverによる選考） |
| 2005 | Griffin Poetry Prize (shortlist) | A Green Light | — | Griffin Poetry Prize | ノミネート（ショートリスト入選） |
Hopwood Award (poetry)
Organization:
University of Michigan
Result:
受賞
National Poetry Series (selected)
1994
Work:
A Hummock in the Malookas
Organization:
National Poetry Series
Result:
選出（Mary Oliverによる選考）
Griffin Poetry Prize (shortlist)
2005
Work:
A Green Light
Organization:
Griffin Poetry Prize
Result:
ノミネート（ショートリスト入選）
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
A Hummock in the Malookas
1995 PoetryDebut collection featuring everyday language and images, notable for unexpected emotional turns.
everyday lifeemotional twists
Satellite
2001 PoetryA collection showing development from early to mid-career; contains dialogic and improvisatory pieces.
dialoguefragments
Nice Hat. Thanks. (with Joshua Beckman)
2002 PoetryCollaborative experimental poetry with Joshua Beckman, featuring dialogue and humor.
collaborationhumor
A Green Light
2004 PoetryPoems that intersect everyday language and quiet surprises; shortlisted for the Griffin Poetry Prize in 2005.
quietnesssurprise
Rise Up
2007 PoetryMid-career collection demonstrating formal variety, dealing with urban life and fragments of relationships.
urban liferelationships
A Plate of Chicken
2009 Poetry / Short collectionA shorter collection of poems that expands small everyday events poetically.
expansion of the everydaysmall incidents
Destroyer and Preserver
2011 PoetryA collection about themes of destruction and preservation, exploring the possibilities of language.
destructionpreservation
Surrounded by Friends
2015 PoetryPoems addressing friendship and community, including experimental lines and forms.
friendshipcommunity
The Others
2017 PoetryA collection focused on otherness and alienation; multiple voices intersect in the poems.
othernessalienation
The Sky Contains the Plans
2020 Poetry (hypnagogic techniques)An experimental book composed by using phrases heard in the hypnagogic state as first lines to create one hundred poems.
hypnagogiafragmentary voices
Army of Giants
2024 PoetryA recent collection from the 2020s compiling Rohrer’s latest poems.
contemporary themescollective imagery
Bibliography
- A Hummock in the Malookas (1995)
- Satellite (2001)
- Nice Hat. Thanks. (with Joshua Beckman, 2002)
- A Green Light (2004)
- Rise Up (2007)
- A Plate of Chicken (2009)
- Destroyer and Preserver (2011)
- Surrounded by Friends (2015)
- The Others (2017)
- The Sky Contains the Plans (2020)
- Army of Giants (2024)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- conversational, plain-spoken voicefragmentary and improvisatory techniquesexperimental incorporation of hypnagogic material
- Recurring Motifs
- everyday languageboundary between dreaming and wakingurban scenes and relationships
Legacy
Matthew Rohrer is known for finding unexpected emotional movement within everyday language and occupies an important place in contemporary experimental American poetry. As a co-founder of Fence magazine he has influenced editorial practice, and several of his books have received critical recognition in the English-speaking world.
Quotes
-
I paid attention to the phrases I heard in that in-between state of falling asleep and decided to write them down as the first lines of one hundred poems.
Source: The Adroit Journal (interview) (2020)
Trivia
- He says he primarily writes while lying down or walking.
- Co-founder of Fence magazine and served as a poetry editor.
- While at the University of Iowa he worked nights as a janitor in the Van Allen astronomy building while writing poems.