Bio
Jacob Victorine is a writer, educator, multi-disciplinary artist, and founder and designer of the responsibly made, gender-neutral clothing line ALL WE REMEMBER. Born and raised in New York City, he earned an AAS in Menswear Design from the Fashion Institute of Technology in 2007, a BA in English Literature from Brooklyn College in 2009, and an MFA in Creative Writing-Poetry from Columbia College Chicago in 2013, where he is currently a Part-time Instructor in the English-Creative Writing and Fashion Studies departments. His poems appear in places such as Columbia Poetry Review, Vinyl Poetry, Matter, DIALOGIST, Phantom Books, and PANK, which nominated him for a Pushcart Prize in 2013.
As a fashion writer, Jacob has published articles for GRAILED's "Dry Clean Only," Heroine's "The Editorial," and produced content for high-end boutiques such as Notre and MEYVN. As a literary reviewer and critic, he has written essays for Publishers Weekly and Poets' Quarterly and served as a Book Reviewer for Muzzle Magazine for five years. As a competitive slam poet, he has twice been a Grand Slam Finalist at the Mental Graffiti slam in Chicago and was a member of the 2011 Jersey City National Poetry Slam Team.
Jacob currently lives in Chicago with his wife, Sarah, and their cats, Gilgamesh and Sita. His first book, FLAMMABLE MATTER, was published by Elixir Press in 2016. His second manuscript, Dear Anne, Dear Sarah, Dear Melita was a semifinalist for the 2016 Fordham University Press POL Prizes.
Flammable Matter
Winner of the Elixir Press Editor's Prize FOR POETRY
"Victorine wants to bear witness, and to make bare his voice so that oppressed bodies might, before they give way, give testimony. He knows that his speakers are striving, urgent, and aflame. Therefore, he writes more than elegy, more than remnants of bone and ash; he writes his speakers in the midst of living, in the midst of living trauma."
-CM Burroughs, author of The Vital System
Publications
Fashion Writing (SEleCted)
NOTRE
“Familiarity Is Their Kink: Behind the Lens with Naomi Smalls and Todd Diederich”
“For EVERYBODY.WORLD, there are no rules but the golden rule”
“The Unshakable Vision of Bruce Woods”
“A Structure for Possibilities: an Interview with Ania Jaworska”
GRAILED
“Heron Preston’s New Vision: From DIY to DSNY to NASA”
“Cut from Italian Cloth: A Brief History of Barena Venezia”
“The Reshuffled Culture of J.W. Anderson”
“Nonnative: How Satoshi Saffen and Takayuki Fujii Turned a T-shirt into a Lifestyle”
“London’s Own: A Look at Martine Rose”
“Grace Wales Bonner’s Unapologetic Internationalization of Menswear”
"Engineered Garments: Daiki Suzuki's Remix of American Workwear"
"Nigel Cabourn: Drawing the Line Between British Authenticity and Imperialism"
"'Damn Daniel': The Vans Story"
"Our Legacy: Breaking The Confines Of Scandinavian Minimalism"
"Five Workwear Garments That Transformed Fashion"
"A Legacy Of Thread: The Unrivaled Ermenegildo Zegna"
"The Influential and Innovative Style of OutKast, Era by Era"
"Brunello Cucinelli: Philosopher King or Steward of Small Town Life?"
"Levi's and the Staying Power of American Innovation"
"Five Military Footwear Styles That Transformed Fashion"
"Why Vetements Wouldn't Exist without Cindy Sherman, Walter Van Beirendonck and Bernard Willhelm"
"Five Chinese Designers to Know Right Now"
"Made in China: China's Evolution from Mass Production to Homegrown Design"
"Five Military Garments That Transformed Fashion"
"Six California Brands (Not Named Stussy) That Changed Streetwear Forever"
"The Continued Cultural Relevance of Stussy"
"Five Korean Brands to Know Right Now"
"A-COLD-WALL*, Experimental Black Poetry, and the Black Arts Movement"
"NEIGHBORHOOD: The Patchwork Design Approach Of Shinsuke Takizawa"
"Maharishi: The Other Trailblazing Streetwear Brand Of 1994"
"Remembering Nom De Guerre, The Most Influential Streetwear Brand You May Have Never Heard Of"
HEROINE
"The Corruption of Collaboration"
"Why Supreme's (Mis)Appropriation of Barbara Kruger's Art Matters More Than Ever"
"The Originality and Obsession of Salvatore Ferragamo"
Poems (selected)
Newcity, Summer 2019
“From Our Porch I Gaze at Our Lush Garden”
Columbia Poetry Review, Issue 30
"Vessel in the Form of Grief"
Habitat Magazine, Issue 2
"On the Occasion of 560. January February 2008 by Jean Luc MyLayne"
"Vessel in the Form of Self-Love"
"Vessel in the Form of the Body"
Columbia Poetry Review, Issue 28
“Dear Anne, September 18”
Matter: A (somewhat) monthly journal of political poetry and commentary, Issue 9
Vinyl Poetry, Volume 11
“It’s Like There’s Ash Everywhere”
DIALOGIST, Volume I, Issue II
“Respect for Fire Is a Respect That’s Been Taught”
Columbia Poetry Review, Issue 26
“Flammable Matter,” “Richard Pryor” & “Tommy Boy”
Phantom Books, 7, 2013
“Everywhere People Move into Darkness—Alleyways that Run Arms Between Them”
The Bakery
“Conjuring”
“I Know Why My Father Says Spontaneous Combustion”
PANK, 7.08
Muzzle Magazine
Reviews & Essays (Selected)
The Monocle Travel Guide Series, 37, Chicago
“Love/Poetry: Chicago’s Poetry Scene”
Coldfront Magazine
Song of the Week, August 31, 2015: “‘Hip Hop’ by Yasiin Bey”
Poets’ Quarterly
November 2015
“Review: if you turn around I will turn around by Ben Clark”
July 2013
“The Problem(s) with ‘Twenty Little Poems That Could Save America’”
Publishers Weekly
“How to Translate a Map: Clare Cavanagh: Poetry 2015”
Muzzle Magazine
Issue 20
"First Red by Kayla Sargeson: Reviewed by Jacob Victorine"
Issue 19
"a slice from the cake made of air by Lillian-Yvonne Bertram: Reviewed by Jacob Victorine"
Issue 18
"Thief in the Interior, by Phillip B. Williams: A Review by Jacob Victorine"
Issue 17
"Boy with Thorn, by Rickey Laurentiis: A Review by Jacob Victorine"
Issue 16
“Blood Work, by Matthew Siegel: A Review by Jacob Victorine”
Issue 15
“Dear Hero, by Jason McCall: A Review by Jacob Victorine”
Issue 14
“Supper & Repair Kit by Nicole Wilson: A Review by Jacob Victorine”
Issue 13
“Revising the Storm by Geffrey Davis: A Review by Jacob Victorine”
Issue 12
“Butch Geography by Stacey Waite: A Review by Jacob Victorine”
PERFORMANCE
NEWS
PRESS
"Jacob Victorine: A Poet Who Opens His Eyes" by Ana Tash in journal.hr
Q&A Response to "Beyond Ideology: Creative Writing's (New?) Political Imperatives" in Howlarium
"Jacob Victorine Illuminates Real Matters with Fire" by Julia Ahtijainen in LESS Magazine
Review of Flammable Matter in Publishers Weekly
Review of Flammable Matter in Newcity Lit
SpokenHeard with Jacob Victorine and Susan Dobbe Chase, Blog Talk Radio, 2013
Prosody, Pittsburgh's NPR News Station 90.5 WESA, September 29, 2012: Interviewed by Renée Alberts
PAST READINGS (SELECTED)
the real, the between: A group reading in response and connection to "This Land Again"
Saturday May 13, 6:30pm, reading at 7pm
Sector 2337, 2337 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago, IL, 60647
Featuring: Tara Betts, Ben Clark, Hannah Gamble, C. Russell Price, Kenyatta Rogers, & Jacob Victorine
CM Burroughs, Phillip B. Williams, and Jacob Victorine Read at Sector 2337
Saturday, March 11, 2017, 7pm-9pm
Sector 2337, 2337 N. Milwaukee Ave. Chicago, IL
The Dollhouse Reading Series #49
Saturday, May 14, 2016 at 7pm
Featuring: francine j. harris, Ryan Collins, Emily Jungmin Yoon, and Jacob Victorine
The Logan Salon Series at City Lit Books
Thursday, February 25th at 6:30pm
Featuring: Jacob Victorine, Kenyatta Rogers, Daniela Olszewska, Steve Halle, and more
NOn-Profits
Below are a few of the many worthwhile non-profits that work to resolve some of the myriad of social and political injustices that are explored within Flammable Matter. Please consider donating your time and/or resources to one or more of them.
International Campaign for Tibet
1825 Jefferson Place NW
Washington, DC 20036 USA
Project RENEW
Kids First Village
185 Ly Thuong Kiet Street
Dong Ha City, Quang Tri Province, Viet Nam
+84 53 3858445 (ext. 114)
Women for Women International
Global Headquarters
2000 M Street, NW
Suite 200
Washington DC 20036
