Gary Jackson
Associate Professor and Director of Undergraduate Creative Writing
Born and raised in Topeka, Kansas, Gary Jackson is the author of origin story (University of New Mexico, 2021) and Missing You, Metropolis (Graywolf, 2010), which received the 2009 Cave Canem Poetry Prize. He’s also co-editor of The Future of Black: Afrofuturism, Black Comics, and Superhero Poetry (Blair, 2021). His poems have appeared in numerous journals including Callaloo, The Sun, Los Angeles Review of Books, Copper Nickel, and elsewhere. He’s been published in Shattered: The Asian American Comics Anthology, was featured in the 2013 New American Poetry Series by the Poetry Society of America, and is the recipient of both a Cave Canem and Bread Loaf fellowship. He joined the Department of English at the College of Charleston in 2013, currently teaches in the MFA program as well as undergraduate creative writing.
You can view some of his work here:
Education
M.F.A., Creative Writing/Poetry, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque NM
B.A., English, Washburn University, Topeka, KS
Research Interests
- Poetry
- African American Literature & Poetry
- Poetics
- Comics & graphic novels
Courses Taught
ENGL 568: Reading for Writers
ENGL 564: MFA Workshop in Poetry
ENGL 402: Advanced Workshop in Poetry Writing
ENGL 395: Special Topics (Poetry)
ENGL 377: Poetry Writing II
ENGL 375: Studies in Creative Writing
ENGL 220: Poetry Writing I
ENGL 110: Intro to Academic Writing
Publications
Books
origin story.University of New Mexico Press. August 2021.
The Future of Black: Afrofuturism, Black Comics, and Superhero Poetry. Co-editor (with Len Lawson & Cynthia Manick). Blair Publishing. November 2021.
Missing You, Metropolis. Published by Graywolf Press, October 2010. Fifth printing as of 2019.
Anthologies
“After the Reading,” “Elegy that was already done before,” “Homecoming,” “You can’t write poetry about things that happened a week ago,” “Fiat Lux,” and “Graduation.” Ice On a Hot Stove. A Decade of Converse MFA Poetry. Edited by Denise Duhamel and Rick Mulkey. Published by Clemson University Press. May 2021.
“Kansas.” African American Poetry: 250 Years of Struggle and Song. Edited by Kevin Young. Published by Library of America. October 2020. Page 942.
“Ain’t Misbehaving” (essay). A Measure of Belonging: Twenty-One Writers of Color on the New American South. Edited by Cinelle Barnes. Published by Hub City Press. October 2020. Page 151.
“Watch.” Welcome to the Neighborhood: An Anthology of American Coexistence. Edited by Sarah Green. Published by Swallow Press, December 2019. Page 7.
“Run.” Bodies Built for Game: The Prairie Schooner Anthology of Contemporary Sports Writing. Edited by Natalie Diaz & Hannah Ensor. Published by University of Nebraska Press, 2019. Page 131.
“Astro Boy Blues.” Multiverse! An Anthology of Superhero Poetry of Superhuman Proportions. Edited by Rob Sturma and Ryk Mcintyre. Published by Write Bloody Publishing, 2014. Page 27.
“Superia’s Swan Song,” “Old Lions,” and “Luke Cage Tells It Like It Is.” Drawn to Marvel: Poems from the Comic Books. Edited by Bryan D. Dietrich and Marta Ferguson. Published by Minor Arcana Press, Spring 2014. Pages 14, 181, 266.
“Persons of Mass Destruction” (comic book). Shattered: The Asian American Comics Anthology (Secret Identities). Edited by Keith Chow, et al. Published by The New Press, November 2012. Pages 173-178.
Recent Poems
“Origin Story,” “Interview featuring gun & three daddies,” “Interview featuring boy in wheelchair.” The Laurel Review. Issue 54.1, 2021. Pages 104-111.
“Interview featuring girl in hanbok” and “The Invincible Woman goes viral.” Solstice: A Magazine of Diverse Voices. April 2021.
“After the Reading.” The Sun. Issue 530, February 2020.
“The Invincible Woman Has a One Night Stand,” “The Invincible Woman Reunites with the Telepath,” “The Willpower Man and Invincible Woman Make a Comeback.” Columbia Journal. Issue 58, Spring 2020. Page 96.
“Alexandria.” Birmingham Poetry Review. Issue #47, Spring 2020.
“The Restoration.” Academy of American Poets: Poem-A-Day, Oct. 9. 2019 (online). https://poets.org/poem/restoration-0
“Interview featuring korea & lilt perms.” Third Coast. Issue 46, Spring 2019.
“The Telepath Quits Her Day Job.” Copper Nickel. Issue 28, Spring 2019.
“Forward and Back.” Read at the Inauguration of College President Andrew T. Hsu and Commemorating the 250th Anniversary of the College of Charleston. Fall 2019. https://today.cofc.edu/2020/01/16/president-hsu-brings-tradition-and-transformation/