Matt Mason, the Nebraska State Poet, has a distinguished career that includes leading poetry workshops in Botswana, Romania, Nepal, and Belarus for the U.S. State Department. His work has been featured in The New York Times, and he is the recipient of a Pushcart Prize and fellowships from both the Academy of American Poets and the Nebraska Arts Council. His poetry has appeared in Rattle, Poet Lore, Prairie Schooner, and numerous other publications. In 2023, Button Poetry published his fifth book, Rock Stars.

Mason is also the driving force behind the Nebraska Poetry Pen Pal program, an initiative supported by the Academy of American Poets and Humanities Nebraska. This program aims to foster connections between poets from diverse backgrounds across the state. With a goal of organizing at least one poetry event in each of Nebraska’s 93 contiguous counties, Matt is committed to making poetry accessible and engaging for all.

Born in 1968, Matt is based in Omaha, Nebraska. He served as Nebraska’s 3rd State Poet from 2019 to November 2023. Over his career, he has published eight chapbooks, two full-length poetry collections, and two anthologies.