John Lennon is Associate Professor of English at the University of South Florida. His research interests span across working-class literature, social movements and film, and is principally concerned with how marginalised individuals exert a politicised voice in collectivised actions. He is author of Boxcar Politics: The Hobo in Literature and Culture 1869-1956 (UMASS Press, 2014) and co-editor of Working Class Literature(s): Historical and International Perspectives Volume I and II.

His newest book, Conflict Graffiti: From Revolution to Gentrification (University of Chicago Press, 2021), dives into the many permutations of graffiti in conflict zones—ranging from the protest graffiti of the Black Lives Matter movement in Ferguson and the Tahrir Square demonstrations in Egypt, to the tourist-attraction murals on the Israeli Separation Wall and the street art that has rebranded Detroit and post-Katrina New Orleans.