Marcus Wicker

Marcus Wicker is an Associate Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Memphis. His work explores the diverse experiences of Black Americans through hip hop, jazz, and subversion of traditional poetic forms. He is the author of two poetry collections: Silencer (2017) and Maybe the Saddest Thing (2012), both award-winning. Wicker’s current projects at the Radcliffe Institute include Dear Mothership, a speculative poetry book on reparations and human ethics, and a forthcoming collection of lyric essays on barbershops and Black music.

Education: MFA from Indiana University. Awards include a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, Pushcart Prize, and Ruth Lilly Poetry Fellowship. His work appears in journals like American Poetry Review, Atlantic, and Poetry.

Research focuses on intersections of Black identity, music, and innovative poetic forms. He investigates themes of history, inheritance, and belonging through interdisciplinary lenses.