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Cyrée Jarelle Johnson

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American poet, editor, librarian (born 1990)
Cyrée Jarelle Johnson
BornMarch 1990 (age 34)
United States
OccupationPoet, editor, librarian
LanguageEnglish
GenrePoetry
Notable worksSlingshot (2019)
Notable awards2020 Lambda Literary Award for Gay Poetry
SpouseAzure D Osborne-Lee
Website
cyreejarellejohnson.com

Cyrée Jarelle Johnson (born 1990) is an American poet, editor, and librarian. He co-founded the literary magazine Deaf Poets Society and is currently a librarian at Pratt Institute. His debut poetry collection Slingshot received a Lambda Literary Award for Gay Poetry.

Early life and education

Johnson was raised in Piscataway, New Jersey, and grew up a household he described as "abusive".

He received his bachelor's degree from Hampshire College and completed his MFA in creative writing at Columbia University in 2019.

Johnson was diagnosed with autism when he was about four years old and with lupus in college. He stated in an interview for Mashable, "Autism scholarship characterizes folks on the spectrum as 'black and white thinkers' — and that's quite true for me. What I love, I love with verve and fervor. What I hate, I hate with verve and fervor."

Career

Johnson is co-founder and poetry editor of Deaf Poets Society literary magazine, which was created in 2016 to specifically center works by writers with disabilities and those who are d/Deaf. The magazine was developed with accessibility in mind, such as providing works in various formats including text, audio, and images.

Johnson is an assistant professor and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Librarian at Pratt Institute. He is also a former Chapter Lead for Black Lives Matter Philadelphia.

He described his work as indirectly addressing disability and "what had to do to stay alive." He published his debut poetry collection Slingshot in 2019 under Nightboat Books. In a New York Times review Stephanie Burt described the collection: "It’s challenging work, in its language, its stories, its subcultural references (“prince died for fem bois”), yet it offers pellucid queer intimacies."

Personal life

Johnson is transmasculine and uses he/him pronouns. Johnson is gay. He is married to Azure D Osborne-Lee and they reside in Brooklyn.

Accolades

Works

  • 2019. Slingshot. First edition paperback, publication date 17 September 2019, Nightboat Books. ISBN 9781643620091

References

  1. ^ ""I Can't Make You See What I See": Talking with Cyree Jarelle Johnson and Jesse Rice-Evans". Public Books. 2020-04-27. Retrieved 2020-09-30.
  2. ^ Jordan, Jamal (2018-06-21). "Queer Love in Color". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-08-18.
  3. ^ Edwards, Jessy (2020-09-14). "Crown Heights Librarian Wins Prestigious National Poetry Award". Brooklyn Reader. Archived from the original on 2020-10-22. Retrieved 2020-09-18.
  4. ^ "Cyree Jarelle Johnson '19 Nominated for a Lambda for 'Slingshot'". Columbia - School of the Arts. Retrieved 2020-09-30.
  5. ^ Dupere, Katie (23 April 2017). "7 activists tell us the best thing about being autistic". Mashable. Retrieved 2020-08-18.
  6. ^ Segal, Corinne (2016-08-07). "Meet the Deaf Poets Society, a digital journal for writers with disabilities". PBS NewsHour. Archived from the original on 2017-10-19. Retrieved 2020-08-18.
  7. Burt, Stephanie (2019-10-01). "Dead Fathers, Feminist Icons and Other Poetic Obsessions". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-09-30.
  8. ^ "Poetry Foundation Announces the 2020 Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellowships Winners". Poetry Foundation. 2020-09-17. Retrieved 2020-09-18.

External links

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