Matthew Burgess

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Matthew Burgess, Ph.D. is the author of multiple children's books. His biographies include the acclaimed picturebooks: Make Meatballs Sing: The Life & Art of Corita Kent (Enchanted Lion Books, ELB, 2021), Drawing on Walls: A Story of Keith Haring (ELB, 2020), and Enormous Smallness: A Story of E. E. Cummings (ELB, 2015). His fiction picturebooks include Bird Boy (Knopf, 2021), The Bear and The Moon (Knopf, 2020), and The Unbudgeable Curmudgeon (Knopf, 2019). Matthew has been a poet-in-residence in New York City public schools since 2001.  He is also an Assistant Professor at Brooklyn College and a contributing editor of Teachers & Writers Magazine. His dissertation examined childhood spaces within the context of twentieth century autobiographies.  Learn more about Matthew at http://www.matthewjohnburgess.com/.

Matthew's Process
Watch the video interview conducted by Denise Davila to learn more about Matthew's thoughts on researching and Writing Biographies, Collaborating with Visual Artists, Teaching, and Playing.     

  • 00:00:  Can you tell us about your journey to becoming a biographer for young readers? 
  • 02:26:  What do you think makes a good biography?  How does writing  biographies differ from writing fiction?
  • 05:24:  How do you select which luminous moment(s) in a person’s life to feature in a children’s biography?
  • 07:30: Was there anything about Corita Kent that you wanted to include in the biography but didn’t make the cut?
  • 09:03:  Could you describe your collaboration with illustrators in creating picturebook biographies?
  • 10:10:  Could you tell us about the interplay between your work as the writer and Kara’s work as the illustrator?
  • 12:36: In the publication process, did you have any input as to who would illustrate Make Meatballs Sing?
  • 13:39:  How do you ensure the integrity of a picturebook biography as a work of nonfiction?  
  • 16:54:  Is there something that people should know about you that might be a surprise? 
  • 18:45: Could you tell us about your upcoming projects?  
  • 22:53:  Do you see any crossovers between your work as a biographer and your work as a teacher of children and adults? 
  • 24:45:  How have your students responded to the publication of your books?  
  • 28:11:  What do you hope readers will take away from your biographies?  
  • 29:23: Could you tell us about the epigraph of Make Meatballs Sing?
  • 30:18:  Could you describe the kind of setting or environment in which you wrote Make Meatballs Sing?

Matthew's Books

Other Interviews and Resources about Matthew