Hey, I'm Matt...

Born and raised in upstate New York, Matthew Burns, an associate professor at SUNY Cobleskill, teaches creative writing and literature courses. His poetry and essays have appeared in numerous national and international journals and his poem “Rhubarb” was the winner of the James Hearst prize from North American Review; others have been nominated for Pushcart and Best of the Net awards. Beyond creative work, Burns has served as editor of Harpur Palate, Heron Tree, and a special graffiti-themed issue of Rhizomes: Culture Studies in Emerging Knowledge. His scholarly work often focuses on the less-than-common and has included papers and courses on subjects as varied as Graffiti Linguistics, 20th-Century Music Subcultures, Hobos and Contemporary Transience, and Working Class Literature.