Reuben Jackson (October 1, 1956 – February 16, 2024) was an American poet, educator, jazz historian, and music reviewer.

Early life and education

Jackson was born in Augusta, Georgia on October 1, 1956. He grew up in the Brightwood neighborhood of Northwest Washington D.C. he attended Western High School, now known as the Duke Ellington School of the Arts. He graduated from

Goddard College Goddard College was a Private college, private college with three locations in the United States: Plainfield, Vermont; Port Townsend, Washington; and Seattle. The college offered undergraduate and graduate degree programs. With predecessor ins ...

in 1978. He learned about the college while reading ''

The Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine published six times a year. It was published weekly from 1897 until 1963, and then every other week until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely circulated and influ ...

'' while bored at a party. He then received a MA in library science from the

University of the District of Columbia The University of the District of Columbia (UDC) is a public historically black land-grant university in Washington, D.C., United States. The only public university in the city, it traces its origins to 1851 and opened in its current form in 1 ...

Career

Jackson started working for the Smithsonian museum in the gift shop of the

National Air and Space Museum The National Air and Space Museum (NASM) of the Smithsonian Institution is a museum in Washington, D.C., in the United States, dedicated to history of aviation, human flight and space exploration. Established in 1946 as the National Air Museum, ...

. From 1989 to 2009, he was the curator of the

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D ...

Collection at the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

. He retired in 2009. After his retirement, he moved to Vermont where he taught high school English and lead poetry workshops at Goddard. From 2012 to 2018, he was the host of ''Friday Night Jazz'' on

Vermont Public Radio Vermont Public Co. is the public broadcaster serving the U.S. state of Vermont. Its headquarters, newsroom, and radio studios are located in Colchester, with television studios in Winooski. It operates two statewide radio services aligned wit ...

. He returned to Washington to work as a jazz archivist at the University of the District of Columbia. Jackson was a mentor with The Young Writers Project, where he served on the Board since 2020. He co-hosted a radio program, ''The Sound of Surprise'', on

WPFW WPFW (89.3 FM) is a public radio and jazz music community radio station, serving the Washington metropolitan area. It is owned by the Pacifica Foundation, wit studios located on K Street, NW, Washington, D.C. The station's slogan is "Jazz and J ...

in Washington, D.C., alternating Sunday shows with the show's founder,

Larry Appelbaum Lawrence Allan Appelbaum (April 12, 1957 – February 21, 2025) was an American audio engineer and jazz historian who was the Senior Music Reference Specialist in the Music Division of the Library of Congress, and hosted a Jazz show on WPFW for . ...

Personal life

Jackson died on February 16, 2024 in Washington at the age of 67. He had had suffered a stroke on February 2, hours after completing his show at WPFW.

Works

* ''Fingering the Keys'' (Gut Punch Press, 1990) * ''Scattered Clouds: New & Selected Poems'' (Alan Squire Publishing/ Sante Fe Writer's Project, 2019) *
My Specific Awe and Wonder: Poems
' (Rootstock Publishing, 2024)

References

External links

Friday Night Jazz with Reuben Jackson
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Reuben 1950s births Year of birth uncertain 2024 deaths Historians of jazz American historians Smithsonian Institution people 20th-century births