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Reuben Jackson muses on writing, life, his own poetry, and a lot more in this informal talk given in Rockville, Maryland.

In this video from the UDC Jazz Forum, jazz scholar, Reuben Jackson, sits down with historian, Rusty Hassan, to discuss his life and career.

MLK Video: Reuben Jackson narrates “March” by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin Hear Reuben Jackson narrate from “March: Book One” in honor of MLK day. If the video is not working, you can follow THIS link to stream it. Happy MLK day! We are super excited to finally see Reuben Jackson’s long awaited narration of […]

In-house ASP wordsmith and noted Jazz Scholar, Reuben Jackson, will be narrating March: Book One, written in part by sitting Congressman and civil rights leader John Lewis, for the Vermont Youth Orchestra’s celebratory performance of Duke Ellington’s Three Black Kings (which includes an ode to MLK) and Antonin Dvorak’s New World Symphony (which takes inspiration from African American spirituals).

“There’s much said in what’s not said in Reuben Jackson’s poetry. His cleverly sparse style often convincingly veils the complexities of which he writes, just until the poet sharply corrects our deception.” Linda Stiles

Those deceptions Ms. Stiles refers to above often come from Reuben’s use of the child’s point of view. As a child, the narrator, and reader by proxy, is looking up at the absurdity of adult interests and actions with a renewed curiosity. The narrator misses the cut of the barber’s words when asked “aren’t you proud of being negro?” The narrator cannot reason why the neon lights of the roadside motel are fading in the rear-view window, and yet his father seemed once so confident…

Radio Nights by Reuben Jackson ASP is proud to premier the new Reuben Jackson poem, “Radio Nights.”  From Reuben: As I mentioned during the interview with Rose Solari, my childhood love for radio was two fold: It was (and still is, kinda…) a gateway to new music, and it provided programmers a chance to work […]

Reuben Jackson Reads “Second Grade” “Reuben Jackson’s poems are gateways to possible worlds. With the finesse of a real sleight-of-hand artist, he transforms the truly personal—hopes, dreams, desires—into universal memories.” Richard Peabody Reuben Jackson is a treasure trove of memories. In his brilliant interview with Rose Solari over on the ASP Podcast, he recalls childhood with […]

scattered clouds Reuben Jackson New Collection 2019 PRE-ORDER HERE