Marcus Amaker

Marcus Amaker (born October 29, 1976, in Las Vegas, Nevada) is the first poet laureate of Charleston, South Carolina. He has ten published books and, in 2021, was named an Academy of American Poets Fellow. His poetry has been recognized by PBS NewsHour, TEDx, Huffington Post, Charleston Magazine, The Post and Courier, Charleston City Paper, Charleston Art Mag, and Charleston Regional Business Journal.

Early life and education
Marcus was born in Las Vegas, Nevada to Betty and Willie Amaker, who were stationed there because of the Air Force. The family moved to England, Maryland, Japan and Texas before moving to South Carolina. Marcus' family is from Orangeburg, South Carolina.

Amaker graduated from the University of South Carolina in 1999. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in Journalism. After graduation, he worked at the Anderson Independent-Mail. He later moved to Charleston in 2003 to work as a graphic designer at The Post and Courier. While at The Post and Courier, he became editor of Preview and Charleston Scene, the paper’s entertainment sections.

Poetry
Marcus Amaker and Marjory Heath Wentworth read at Mayor John Tecklenburg’s inauguration, in 2016. Shortly thereafter, Tecklenburg named Amaker Charleston, South Carolina’s first poet laureate. Amaker frequently visits schools to lead poetry workshops with students. Amaker was asked to compose a poem for the removal of the John C. Calhoun statue in June, 2020.

He was also named the artist-in-residence of the Gaillard Center in 2019 and an Academy of American Poets Fellow in 2021.

Other work
In addition to poetry, Amaker is an opera librettist. His debut opera, The Weight of Light, will premiere in 2024 for the Chicago Opera Theater.

He penned the lyrics for Unknown, a song cycle commissioned by UrbanAiras, a DC-based opera company. It was covered by PBS Newshour and The Washington Post. Marcus' lyrics for "The Rain," a song by opera singer Will Liverman, was named one of NPR's top songs of 2021. The album received a Grammy nomination.

He's also a graphic designer, web designer, videographer and musician. He is the lead graphic designer for the national music journal No Depression. As a musician, he has released more than 30 albums under the alias tape loop. He's also released two albums with Grammy-nominated drummer/producer Quentin E. Baxter of Ranky Tanky.

Awards and honors

 * Charleston, South Carolina poet laureate (2016–present)
 * Fresh Voice in the Humanities arts award from South Carolina Humanities
 * 2023 Emanuel Nine Humanitarian Award Honoree
 * South Carolina Press Association, 2007: First Place in page design (daily division, over 80,000)
 * South Carolina Press Association, 2008: First Place in feature page design (daily division, over 80,000); First Place in entertainment section (all daily division)

Poetry books

 * Hold What Makes You Whole. 2023. Free Verse Press. ISBN 978-1734673722
 * Black Music Is. 2021. Free Verse Press. ISBN 978-1-7374696-0-5
 * The Birth of All Things. 2020. Free Verse Press. ISBN 978-1-7346737-0-8
 * Empath. 2018. Createspace. ISBN 978-1976520006
 * Mantra: an interactive poetry book (second edition). 2016. Createspace ISBN 978-1530297511
 * the spoken word: selected poems: 2003-2013. 2013. Createspace. ISBN 978-1490586755
 * the present presence. 2012. Createspace. ISBN 978-1477414606
 * The Soft Paper Cut: poetry and art by marcus amaker. 2007. Organic Process, LLC. ISBN 978-0979651014
 * poems for augustine. 2005. Createspace. ISBN 978-1419609138
 * listening to static: poetry and graphic art. 2005. Booksurge. ISBN 978-1419603860