Matthew Power has died while reporting in Uganda, Outside reports on its Facebook page:
Power was a contributing editor to Harper’s Magazine and also wrote for GQ, Men’s Journal, and other publications. He was on assignment for Men’s Journal, a spokesperson for Wenner Media tells Poynter in an email.
Men’s Journal published a tribute to Power. Here’s a statement from the magazine:
We are devastated to confirm that journalist Matthew Power died yesterday while working on a story for Men’s Journal in Uganda. Matt was reporting a story on Levison Wood, a British explorer who is attempting to walk the length of the Nile River. On Monday, Matt fell ill, lost consciousness, and died. His travel companions believe the cause of death was heat stroke, but we will not know for certain until an autopsy is completed. Matt’s body is en route to Kampala with photographer Jason Florio, who was also working on the story, where the autopsy will be done.
No writer better represented (or loved) Men’s Journal as fully as Matt did, and we are proud to have published dozens of stories he wrote over the years. For more than a decade, Matthew Power packed a bag and found his way to some far-flung, often unpleasant, places to report quintessential Men’s Journal stories (the 2008 climbing disaster on K2; a British adventurer walking the Amazon; a wildlife documentarian tracking grizzly bears in Yellowstone, to name just a few) and write them with a clarity and understated grace that most writers can only hope to achieve.
We extend our deepest sympathies to his wife, Jess, and to Matt’s family. We will pass along more details as we have them.
Longform has a tribute page up, and Power’s fans and friends are tweeting tributes and favorite stories.
The most awful news is now official: @matthew_power has died while reporting a story in Uganda.
— JeffSharlet (@JeffSharlet) March 11, 2014
.@matthew_power wrote a bravely candid piece on his friendship with Allen Ginsberg. So sad to hear of his death. http://t.co/rlup7TTgID
— Steve Silberman (@stevesilberman) March 11, 2014
Listen to this @matthew_power interview for a portrait of a life well-lived. What an inspiration he was. http://t.co/BjBGyC5X0I
— Ryan Devereaux (@rdevro) March 11, 2014
Correction: Men’s Journal’s original statement misspelled Jason Florio’s name. It’s fixed above.
