Marcus Wicker facts for kids

Marcus Wicker (born July 9, 1984) is an American poet. He writes amazing poetry books. His book Silencer won awards like the Society of Midland Authors Award. Another book, Maybe the Saddest Thing, was chosen for the National Poetry Series.

Marcus Wicker has also received special awards called fellowships. These came from places like the Harvard Radcliffe Institute and the National Endowment for the Arts. His poems have been in many popular magazines. These include The Nation, The Atlantic, and Poetry. He also teaches creative writing at the University of Memphis.

Early Life and School

Marcus Wicker was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He grew up in a town nearby called Ypsilanti. He started writing when he was very young. First, he wrote mystery stories and kept personal journals.

In tenth grade, his English teacher introduced him to poetry. His class went to a poetry event at the University of Michigan. There, he saw other students his age perform their poems. This inspired him to write his own poetry. He later earned a special degree in writing from Indiana University in 2010.

His Career as a Poet

Marcus Wicker's first poetry book was Maybe the Saddest Thing. It won the National Poetry Series Prize in 2011. This book was also nominated for an NAACP Image Award. A reviewer from Slate said his poems showed "terrible courage." Another review in Muzzle Magazine said the book "celebrates the messy and uncomfortable."

In 2011, Wicker received a Ruth Lilly Fellowship. He won a Pushcart Prize in 2014 for his poem "Interrupting Aubade Ending In Epiphany." He also won the Miller Audio Prize Contest in 2016. This was for his poem "Watch us Elocute."

His second book, Silencer, came out in 2017. It was also nominated for an NAACP Image Award. A famous critic, Stephanie Burt, said Silencer was "witty yet serious." She noted that his poems talk about important topics. These include unfairness, family loyalty, and racism.

Wicker started teaching English at the University of Southern Indiana in 2012. In 2017, he began teaching creative writing at the University of Memphis. He is currently a special fellow at the Harvard Radcliffe Institute.

Awards and Special Honors

Marcus Wicker has received many awards for his writing:

• 2023 — Harvard Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study Fellowship
• 2021 — National Endowment for the Arts, Creative Writing Fellowship
• 2021 — Poetry Society of America Lyric Poetry Award
• 2020 — Tennessee Arts Commission Individual Artist Fellowship
• 2018 — Society of Midland Authors Award for Silencer
• 2018 — Arnold Adoff Poetry Award for New Voices for Silencer
• 2011 — Ruth Lilly Poetry Fellowship
• 2010 — Fine Arts Work Center Fellowship