ANN ARBOR—University of Michigan Ann Arbor professor
Khaled Mattawa is a recipient of the 2014 MacArthur Foundation Fellowship. 

Mattawa, 50, was born in Libya, and moved to the United States in 1979. The
award is widely referred to as the “Genius Grant.”

Only 21 fellows were selected. Some of the fellows include
a cartoonist, physicist, jazz composer and mathematician.

Mattawa, an Arabic poet-translator will receive a $625,000
stipend as part of the fellowship, which will be paid out over the next five
years.

He plans on using the stipend to take on larger projects, and focus more
on his poetry translation.

Mattawa received the award for the work he has done to
bring greater understanding about Arabic poetry to the public. 

He has
translated nine Arabic poetry books, and is working on his 10th. Mattawa is
also the author of four poetry books that include, “Tocqueville” and the book,
“Mahmoud Darwish: The Poet’s Art and His Nation.”