Description
Literary Hub • “Most Anticipated Poetry of 2026”
“A poetics of magic and experience, of submission and resistance, of saying and seeing who and what we are in stereo.” —Terrance Hayes
Revered for his “patient, clever, controlled, [and] visionary” (Hanif Abdurraquib) poems, Adrian Matejka has been a mainstay of contemporary American poetry for over two decades. Gathering hits from six extraordinary collections, Be Easy showcases his singular sonics and narrative vision in fresh, dynamic poems that lyrically complicate place, race, and identity.
Traversing the Midwest from Indianapolis to Chicago, new poems explore the twitchy unease of unintentional migration and economic instability as the country faces a future every bit as unsettling and circus-like as parking lot carnivals of the poet’s childhood. Selections from Mixology (2008)—“a post-soul tour de force” (Kevin Young)—reverberate with the rhythm of ’80s hip-hop, while “revelatory” (Gabrielle Calvocoressi) odes from Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award finalist The Big Smoke (2013) reimagine the legacy of prizefighter Jack Johnson and transcendent poems from Map to the Stars (2017) brim with cosmic jazz.
Matejka’s smooth lyricism flows into a singular, indispensable collection of memories lost and found again. Tracing the continuum of a “rocket-powered” (Campbell McGrath) writer, Be Easy affirms Matejka as one of the most exciting voices of our time.
Reviews
"This exceptional collection from Matejka puts his agile, musical voice, vivid imagery, and talent for cultural critique on full display. The result is a fantastic entry point for readers unfamiliar with Matejka’s work. An essential volume for his fans." — Publishers Weekly, starred review
"This highly anticipated gathering of poems new and from past collections celebrates Matejka as an acclaimed writer of soulful musicality, unmatched linguistic ingenuity, and constantly evolving poetic strategies. Matejka's new poems establish him as a poet of fascinating contradictions, urban and suburban, visual and musical, utterly brilliant and entirely grounded." — Diego Báez, Booklist, starred review
"There are so many kinds of music in Adrian Matejka’s head. He’s spot on about ‘the music of the mind & / . . . the music of the maw.’ There’s also the music of time, coursing through Be Easy as memory, history, and hope. And the chorus of color, mapping out a portrait of who in the world we are and what it is we seek. In the vivid intoxication of each poem’s heartbeat and mouthfeel is something that sounds to me like marrow music, flowing toward what stirs at the core of us." — Tracy K. Smith, author of Such Color: New and Selected Poems
"Adrian Matejka’s marvelous Be Easy is a live, evolving statement of poetics. From debut to today, he’s tuned in to the codes and frequencies of someone born Black when the world was sold. Whatever the form, Matejka’s peerless work aims to revitalize our fossilized language, turning it back into a body of muscle, memory, music. This new and selected is all that." — Terrance Hayes, author of American Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassin
"These old and new poems recognize and speak to each other the way ‘game recognize game.’ This is not the highlight reel of a retired Indiana baller with only ‘remember when’s’ to serve up. Although the oldies are goodies, this pure shooter with both handles and range is not only still in his prime, his lyrical ankle-breakers demand that Be Easy be picked first off the shelf. This instant classic, this collection of new and selected poems is an all-star team that proves Adrian Matejka still ‘got game.’" — Frank X Walker, author of Load In Nine Times