Reuben Jackson Featured in The Montpelier Bridge
In her article entitled "Clouds over Vermont," Mara Brooks describes the romantic relationship between Goddard alum Reuben Jackson and his second home.
“I’d seen all these postcards where there were, like, green pastures, and gazebos, and I thought, ‘wouldn’t that be wonderful?’” Jackson recalled. “Of course, being a black kid in D.C., I couldn’t tell my friends that, so I was kind of a closet pastoralist.”
In this wonderful article by The Bridge's Mara Brooks, reflections by Reuben Jackson and writing by Brooks combine to create a satisfying narrative about the author of Scattered Clouds and his second home. Not to mention shedding some light on the pastoral aspects of the green mountain state.
“I had these romantic visions of being a poet, wearing a tweed jacket, smoking a pipe,” Jackson said. “Looking over the hills going, ‘Oh, that’s Spruce Mountain, I think I’ll write an ode to it.’ You know, that corny guy was always in me. And being at Goddard, I was able to swing that bat.”
If you've ever been interested in how Jackson wound up hosting VPR's jazz nights or about his formative forays into poetry writing, Brooks' article shines ample light on these early years, but not so much that it blinds. "Clouds over Vermont" will leave you wanting more.
Scattered Clouds is a volume of lyrical, emotionally forthright meditations on love, loss, and longing. The volume contains the complete text of the author’s award-winning first collection, fingering the keys; his nationally lauded poem, “For Trayvon Martin”; and his suite of ruminations on a long-time and deeply missed friend, the late barbershop owner Amir Yasin, and his widow Khadijah Rollins. These poems, exploring Amir’s late-life romance with Kadijah, became a national internet sensation.