The Big Smoke by Adrian Matejka is a collection of poems about the first African American heavy-weight champion, Jack Johnson. Most of these poems are written in the voice of Johnson, some directly to the reader and others are epistolary poems, poems written “to” other characters present in Johnson’s story by Johnson. Included in the book are excerpts from interviews with Johnson and some of the women Johnson was involved with at different stages of his fighting career. Notes at the back of the book about source materials for the poems, including epigraphs and direct quotations.
Purchase: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/313443/the-big-smoke-by-adrian-matejka/9780143123729/
Review: https://therumpus.net/2014/01/the-big-smoke-by-adrian-matejka/
A poem from the collection: http://www.jubilat.org/jubilat/archive/issue22/battle_of_the_century/
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