Major Jackson
Encyclopedia
Major Jackson is an American poet and professor. He is the author of three collections of poetry: Holding Company (W.W. Norton, 2010) and Hoops (W.W. Norton, 2006), both finalists for an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literature-Poetry, and Leaving Saturn (University of Georgia, 2002), winner of the 2001 Cave Canem Poetry Prize and finalist for a National Book Critics Award Circle.
and the University of Oregon
. He is a professor of English at the University of Vermont
and a faculty member of the Bennington College
Writing Seminars. He serves as the Poetry Editor of the Harvard Review
.
His poems have been published in literary journals and magazines including The New Yorker
, The American Poetry Review
, Callaloo
, Poetry
, and Tin House
. His poetry has received critical attention in The Boston Globe
, Christian Science Monitor, Parnassus
, Philadelphia Inquirer, and on National Public Radio's All Things Considered
. His work has been included in anthologies such as The Best American Poetry 2004
(Scribner, 2004), The Pushcart Prize XXIX: Best of the Small Presses, (W.W. Norton & Company, 2004) Schwerkraft, From the Fishouse (Persea Books, 2009), and The Word Exchange: Anglo-Saxon Poems in Translation (W.W. Norton & Company, 2010).
, a 1995 Pew Fellowship in the Arts
, and a 2003 Witter Bynner Fellowship
. He was poet in residence at The Frost Place
in 2004, and has served as a creative arts fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study
at Harvard University
, the Jack Kerouac
Writer-in-Residence at the University of Massachusetts Lowell
., and the Sidney Harman Writer-in-Residence at Baruch College.
Life
He earned degrees from Temple UniversityTemple University
Temple University is a comprehensive public research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Originally founded in 1884 by Dr. Russell Conwell, Temple University is among the nation's largest providers of professional education and prepares the largest body of professional...
and the University of Oregon
University of Oregon
-Colleges and schools:The University of Oregon is organized into eight schools and colleges—six professional schools and colleges, an Arts and Sciences College and an Honors College.- School of Architecture and Allied Arts :...
. He is a professor of English at the University of Vermont
University of Vermont
The University of Vermont comprises seven undergraduate schools, an honors college, a graduate college, and a college of medicine. The Honors College does not offer its own degrees; students in the Honors College concurrently enroll in one of the university's seven undergraduate colleges or...
and a faculty member of the Bennington College
Bennington College
Bennington College is a liberal arts college located in Bennington, Vermont, USA. The college was founded in 1932 as a women's college and became co-educational in 1969.-History:-Early years:...
Writing Seminars. He serves as the Poetry Editor of the Harvard Review
Harvard Review
The Harvard Review is a literary magazine published by the Harvard University library system.Its origins can be dated to 1986, when Stratis Haviaras, the curator of the libraries' poetry room founded a magazine called Erato to publicize poetry room authors.The first issue included a poem by Seamus...
.
His poems have been published in literary journals and magazines including The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
, The American Poetry Review
The American Poetry Review
The American Poetry Review is an American poetry magazine printed every other month on tabloid-sized newsprint.Founded in 1972 by Stephen Berg, APR has always been published from editorial offices in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Berg is one of three editors, along with David Bonanno and Elizabeth...
, Callaloo
Callaloo
Callaloo is a popular Caribbean dish served in different variants in across the Caribbean. The main ingredient is a leaf vegetable, traditionally either amaranth , taro or Xanthosoma. Both are known by many names including callaloo, coco, tannia, bhaaji, or dasheen bush...
, Poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
, and Tin House
Tin House
Tin House is an American literary magazine and book publisher based in Portland, Oregon and New York City. The Tin House magazine was conceived in the summer of 1998 by Portland publisher Win McCormack. He envisioned a journal that would be graphically appealing and free of the stale substance...
. His poetry has received critical attention in The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
, Christian Science Monitor, Parnassus
Parnassus (magazine)
Parnassus: Poetry in Review is an American literary magazine founded in 1973.The magazine states on its website that its aim has been "to provide a forum where poets, novelists, and critics of all persuasions could gather to review new books of poetry, including translations [....
, Philadelphia Inquirer, and on National Public Radio's All Things Considered
All Things Considered
All Things Considered is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio. It was the first news program on NPR, and is broadcast live worldwide through several outlets...
. His work has been included in anthologies such as The Best American Poetry 2004
The Best American Poetry 2004
The Best American Poetry 2004, a volume in The Best American Poetry series, was edited by general editor David Lehman. The guest editor for the year was Lyn Hejinian....
(Scribner, 2004), The Pushcart Prize XXIX: Best of the Small Presses, (W.W. Norton & Company, 2004) Schwerkraft, From the Fishouse (Persea Books, 2009), and The Word Exchange: Anglo-Saxon Poems in Translation (W.W. Norton & Company, 2010).
Honors and awards
His honors include a 2003 Whiting Writers' AwardWhiting Writers' Award
The Whiting Writers' Award is an American award presented annually to ten emerging writers in fiction, nonfiction, poetry and plays. The award is sponsored by the Mrs. Giles Whiting Foundation and has been presented since 1985. As of 2007, winners receive US $50,000.-External links:**...
, a 1995 Pew Fellowship in the Arts
Pew Fellowships in the Arts
The Pew Fellowships in the Arts is an organization established by the Pew Charitable Trusts in 1991 which awards grants to Philadelphia-area artists. The grants provide artists with an economic freedom that presents the opportunity to focus on their individual practices over a considerable period...
, and a 2003 Witter Bynner Fellowship
Witter Bynner Fellowship
Witter Bynner Fellowships are administered by the Library of Congress and sponsored by the Witter Bynner Foundation for Poetry, an organization that provides grant support for poetry programs through nonprofit organizations. Fellows are chosen by the U.S...
. He was poet in residence at The Frost Place
The Frost Place
The Frost Place is a museum and nonprofit educational center for poetry located at Robert Frost's former home in Franconia, New Hampshire, USA....
in 2004, and has served as a creative arts fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study
Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study
The Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard is an educational institution in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and one of the semiautonomous components of Harvard University. It is heir to the name and buildings of Radcliffe College, but unlike that historical institution, its focus is directed...
at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, the Jack Kerouac
Jack Kerouac
Jean-Louis "Jack" Lebris de Kerouac was an American novelist and poet. He is considered a literary iconoclast and, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, a pioneer of the Beat Generation. Kerouac is recognized for his spontaneous method of writing, covering topics such as Catholic...
Writer-in-Residence at the University of Massachusetts Lowell
University of Massachusetts Lowell
The University of Massachusetts Lowell is a public university in Lowell, Massachusetts, and part of the University of Massachusetts system...
., and the Sidney Harman Writer-in-Residence at Baruch College.
External links
- Video:Basic Black Major Jackson Interview on WGBH 89.7
- Video:Interview with Major Jackson at the NYS Writers Institute in 2008
- Audio: The Cortland Review > Major Jackson Reading Superfluities
- Audio:Major Jackson reading for From the Fishouse
- Interview: Major Jackson Interview on Identity Theory
- Author’s Booking Agency: Blue Flower Arts > Major Jackson Author Page
- Author Page: W.W. Norton > Major Jackson Bio & Books