Whiting Awards
1 appearances
-
Edition 19 (2003) Winner
Major Jackson
メジャー・ジャクソン
Mejā Jakuson
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1968-09-09 （Philadelphia, Pennsylvania）
- Nationality
- United States
- Languages
- English
- Residence History
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania → Vermont → Nashville, Tennessee
Career
- Occupations
- Poet, Professor
- Active Years
- 2002-
- Affiliations
- Vanderbilt University, University of Vermont, New York University, Bennington College
- Memberships
- Dark Room Collective
- Influenced By
- Sonia Sanchez, Garrett Hongo, Derek Walcott, Afaa Michael Weaver, Gwendolyn Brooks, Robert Hayden, Philip Levine, C. K. Williams
- Nominations
- NAACP Image Award finalist (Hoops), National Book Critics Circle Award finalist (Leaving Saturn)
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central High School | — | — | — | — | United States |
| Temple University | — | English | — | — | United States |
| University of Oregon | — | Creative Writing | — | — | United States |
Central High School
Country:
United States
Temple University
English
Country:
United States
Degree earned
University of Oregon
Creative Writing
Country:
United States
Degree earned
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Cave Canem Poetry Prize | Leaving Saturn | Poetry | Cave Canem | winner |
| — | NAACP Image Award | Hoops | Outstanding Literature-Poetry | NAACP | finalist |
| 2002 | National Book Critics Circle Award | Leaving Saturn | — | National Book Critics Circle | finalist |
| — | Pushcart Prize | — | — | — | winner |
| — | Whiting Award | — | — | Whiting Foundation | winner |
| — | Pew Fellowship in the Arts | — | — | Pew Center for Arts & Heritage | winner |
| — | Witter Bynner Fellowship | — | — | Library of Congress | winner |
Cave Canem Poetry Prize
2000
Work:
Leaving Saturn
Category:
Poetry
Organization:
Cave Canem
Result:
winner
NAACP Image Award
Work:
Hoops
Category:
Outstanding Literature-Poetry
Organization:
NAACP
Result:
finalist
National Book Critics Circle Award
2002
Work:
Leaving Saturn
Organization:
National Book Critics Circle
Result:
finalist
Pushcart Prize
Result:
winner
Whiting Award
Organization:
Whiting Foundation
Result:
winner
Pew Fellowship in the Arts
Organization:
Pew Center for Arts & Heritage
Result:
winner
Witter Bynner Fellowship
Organization:
Library of Congress
Result:
winner
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
Leaving Saturn
2002 PoetryHoops
2006 PoetryHolding Company
2010 PoetryRoll Deep
2015 PoetryThe Absurd Man
2020 PoetryRazzle Dazzle: New & Selected Poems 2002-2022
2023 PoetryBibliography
- Razzle Dazzle: New & Selected Poems 2002-2022
- The Absurd Man
- Roll Deep
- Holding Company
- Hoops
- Leaving Saturn
- A Beat Beyond: Selected Prose of Major Jackson
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- Lyrical styleUrban life depictionThemes of praise
- Recurring Motifs
- Ethical obligation to communitiesAfrican American experiencePraise
Legacy
Major Jackson is a leading contemporary American poet who has received numerous prestigious awards and serves as the Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Chair in the Humanities at Vanderbilt University. His works explore urban life and praise from an African American perspective.
Trivia
- Attended a studious Catholic primary school.
- Member of the Dark Room Collective.
- Host of the podcast The Slowdown (2023-2025).
- Worked with local writers in Kenya to extend literary conversation.