John Keene

John Keene is a Board of Governors Professor and Distinguished Professor of English and African American Studies at Rutgers University-Newark, where he chairs the Department of African American and African Studies. He also teaches in the Rutgers-Newark MFA in Creative Writing Program and has been recognized with the Rutgers Faculty Scholar-Teacher Award in 2017.

Keene's research spans multiple disciplines including fiction writing, poetry and poetics, 20th and 21st Century American, African American and African Diasporic literary and cultural studies, LGBTQIA+ and gender studies, Black and global aesthetics, and translation studies. His work consistently explores the intersections of race, queerness, and literary form through innovative narrative techniques that challenge conventional historical accounts.

His creative output shows remarkable thematic consistency across decades, with recurring explorations of Black queer identity, historical reimagining, and experimental literary forms. Keene's publications reveal his commitment to both creative expression and scholarly inquiry, often blurring the boundaries between these modes of intellectual production.

• 2022 National Book Award in Poetry for Punks: New & Selected Poems
• 2022 Lambda Literary Award for Gay Poetry
• 2022 Thom Gunn Award for Gay Poetry
• 2018 MacArthur Fellowship
• 2016 American Book Award for Counternarratives
• 2016 Lannan Literary Award for Fiction
• 2017 Republic of Consciousness Prize for Small Presses

As an educator, Keene has mentored numerous writers through his long-standing involvement with the Dark Room Writers Collective and Cave Canem. His editorial work with literary journals like Obsidian and Transition demonstrates his commitment to fostering emerging voices. Keene also engages in conceptual art projects through his Emotional Outreach Project, which explores social connections in urban environments.