Adam Falkner is an American author, poet, artist, and educator. Falkner is a

Pushcart Prize The Pushcart Prize is an American literary prize published by Pushcart Press that honors the best "poetry, short fiction, essays or literary whatnot" published in the small presses over the previous year. Magazine and small book press editors are ...

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 The first United States presidential inauguration, inauguration of Barack Obama as the List of presidents of the United States, 44th president of the United States took place on Tuesday, January 20, 2009, at the West Front of the United States C ...

Education

Falkner is from

Ann Arbor Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna (name), Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah (given name), Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie (given name), ...

, Michigan, and attended the University of Michigan as an undergraduate student. He holds a MA in English from

Brooklyn College Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls about 15,000 undergraduate and 2,800 graduate students on a 35-acre campus. Being New York City's first publ ...

, and a PhD in English & Education from Columbia University.

Career

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

Writing

Falkner's book, ''The Willies'', is a portrait of the "journey into queerhood" in America. 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. Falkner has been nominated for a

. 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.

Educational leadership

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

Scholarship and research

Falkner is a scholar of critical English education. His research, initially under the direction of Dr.

Ernest Morrell Ernest Morrell (born April 27, 1971) is an American university professor, currently the Coyle Professor in Literacy Education at Notre Dame. In July 2021, he will also become the Associate Dean for the Humanities and Equity in the College of Arts ...

, 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

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 Common may refer to: Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Common, common land area in Cambridge, Massachusetts * Clapham Common, originally com ...

Personal life

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

Bibliography

;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

References

External links

*
''The Willies'' at Button Poetry Press
{{DEFAULTSORT:Falkner, Adam Living people American male poets Writers from Ann Arbor, Michigan American gay writers Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century LGBT people 21st-century American poets 21st-century American male writers American LGBT poets LGBT people from Michigan