John Keene (writer)

John Keene (born 1965) is an American writer, translator, and scholar known for his experimental fiction, poetry, and essays. His work frequently engages with themes of race, sexuality, history, and diaspora, often employing a dense and innovative style that blends literary forms and historical perspectives.

Keene's notable works include the novel Annotations (2003), a highly acclaimed experimental novel exploring issues of race, sexuality, and identity through a fragmented and poetic narrative. He also authored the short story collection GRATITUDE (2007), which further solidified his reputation as a groundbreaking and formally inventive writer. Other works include Seismosis, a collaborative art and text project with artist Christopher Stackhouse, and Counternarratives (2015), a collection of novellas and short stories that reimagine historical figures and events through a queer, Black lens.

Keene's writing has received numerous awards and accolades, including a Whiting Award, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Fellowship (the "Genius Grant"), and the Windham-Campbell Prize. He is also a translator of Brazilian Portuguese and Spanish.

In addition to his creative writing, Keene is an accomplished scholar. He has taught at various universities and is currently a Professor of English and African American Studies at Rutgers University-Newark. His scholarly interests include African American literature, Latin American literature, and queer studies. He is recognized for his contributions to contemporary literature and literary criticism, pushing boundaries and challenging conventional narrative structures.