ANN ARBOR — University of Michigan Ann Arbor professor Khaled Mattawa has received 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. Other 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.”