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Adam Falkner

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Adam Falkner
Born
NationalityAmerican
OccupationWriter
Notable workThe Willies

Adam Falkner is an American writer, poet, artist, and educator.[1]

Falkner is a Pushcart Prize nominee. His work has appeared in The New York Times, and he has been a featured performer at President Barack Obama's Grassroots Ball at the 2009 Presidential Inauguration.[2]

Education

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Falkner is from Ann Arbor,[3] Michigan, and attended the University of Michigan as an undergraduate student.[4] He holds a MA in English from Brooklyn College, and a PhD in English & Education from Columbia University.[5]

Career

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Falkner's writing and work focus on intersectional themes of race, gender, queer life and social justice education.

Writing

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Falkner's book, The Willies,[6] is a portrait of the "journey into queerhood" in America.[7] The book has received praise from National Book Award-winning author Andrew Solomon, and from writers and critics Saeed Jones, Hanif Abdurraqib, and Patricia Smith for its “vulnerability, determination, lyricism and incisiveness.” The Willies was the winner of the Midwestern Independent Book Award and the Foreward Reviews Gold Medal prize.[8][9]

Falkner has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. His work also has appeared in The New York Times and on TED, and he was a featured performer at President Barack Obama's Grassroots Ball at the 2009 Presidential Inauguration.[2]

Educational leadership

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Prior to pursuing doctoral study at Columbia University's Teachers College, Falkner taught high school English in New York City's public schools.[10] He founded the Dialogue Arts Project,[11][12][13][14] and is a national lecturer and consultant around themes of racial equity and culturally empowering education.[15][16] He has taught English Education and Sociology at Vassar College and Columbia University's Teachers College.[17]

Scholarship and research

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Falkner is a scholar of critical English education. His research, initially under the direction of Dr. Ernest Morrell, examines performance and storytelling rituals in schools and companies as tools to cultivate (and measure impact around) dialogue pertaining to identity, culture and politics.

Acting and others

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Falkner is also an actor and a musician. He has played supporting roles in several films, including Lionsgate's Love, Beats & Rhymes, which starred rappers Azealia Banks and Common.

Personal life

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Falkner is gay. He currently lives in Brooklyn, New York.[18]

Bibliography

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Books
  • The Willies. Button Poetry, 2020
Chapbooks
  • Adoption. Diode Editions, 2018
  • Ten For Faheem, 2012
Articles
  • The Power of Touch. The Guardian, 2020
  • Race and Voting Rights: The All-Too Familiar Battle for the Ballet. PBS' World Channel, 2020
Poems
  • Love Me A Man Who Cries. Catapult, 2020
  • The Year The Wu-Tang Drops. THRUSH, 2017
  • Connor Everywhere But. Painted Bride Quarterly, 2012
Anthologized
  • Resisting Arrest, University of Georgia Press, 2018
  • The BreakBeat Poets: New American Poetry in the Age of Hip Hop. Haymarket Books, 2016
  • Uncommon Core: Contemporary Poems for Living and Learning. Red Beard Press, 2014[19]

References

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  1. ^ Malesevic, Dusica Sue (April 21, 2013). "On the Train, or at the Laundromat, Your Poem Begins … Now". The New York Times. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  2. ^ a b Olayiwola, Porsha (February 4, 2020). "Philly Writers". Bluestoop. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  3. ^ Zick, Anthony (August 1, 2017). "A New Era for Ann Arbor Youth Writers". Current. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  4. ^ "Alumni Spotlight: Adam Falkner". University of Michigan. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  5. ^ Shrayfer, Lilia (February 5, 2020). "New in February: Brandon Taylor, R. Eric Thomas, and Lidia Yuknavitch". Lambda Literary. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  6. ^ Falkner, Adam. "The Willies". Button Poetry. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  7. ^ "Best New Poets 2020 Nominations". Thrush Poetry Journal. 2020. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  8. ^ Fuentes, Janet (March 18, 2020). "Adam Falkner: Poetry Performance". Patch. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  9. ^ Goodman, Elyssa (February 6, 2020). "Adam Falkner Confronts Queer Shame, and His Father's Alcoholism, in The Willies". them.us. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  10. ^ "Mount Pleasant Library to Host Award-Winning Poet Falkner for Night of Performance Poetry". golocalprov.com. February 19, 2020. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  11. ^ Chauhan, Anita (January 28, 2020). "Unlocking human connection in the workplace and beyond: Introducing Dr. Adam Falkner to the Crescendo Team". Crescendo Work. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  12. ^ "Performance, Poetry and the Dialogue Arts Project". New Jersey Institute of Technology. 2012. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  13. ^ "Convocation profiles the Dialogue Arts Project, using creative writing and art to generate dialogue about social identity and difference". Carleton University. January 23, 2015. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  14. ^ "Episode 36: Dialogue Arts Project". Commonplace: Conversations with Poets (and Other People). September 5, 2017. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  15. ^ Gellmann, Elizabeth (November 22, 2019). "Cultivating Community series lecturer invites students to be more considerate as they interact with other people". thelamron.com. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  16. ^ Montgomery, Sarah Jasmine (October 11, 2017). "Watch the trailer for RZA's upcoming film starring Azealia Banks". The Fader. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  17. ^ "How can writing change the world?". New Jersey Institute of Technology. October 7, 2013. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  18. ^ "Poet Of The Week: Patricia Smith". Brooklyn Poets. February 17, 2020. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  19. ^ Falkner, Adam. "Uncommon Core: Contemporary Poems for Learning and Living". Retrieved June 20, 2020.
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