My Specific Awe and Wonder: Poems

by Reuben Jackson

Genres: Poetry

72 pages, Paperback

Published August 31, 2024

Reviews

[Meag · Rating 5 out of 5]

My specific awe and wonder: poems is the third and final poetry book by Reuben Jackson who died shortly before release. This collection serves as a tribute to the poet’s life beginning with a lovely poem by Rajnii Eddins (author of Their Names Are Mine). The main themes of this collection are nature, wonders, friendship, old school music, life (in it’s bleakness and beauty) and race. While he’s resting peacefully, here’s one of his poems, titled Two City Boys, from MSAAW:

“Two city boys
Spent an autumn Sunday
Hugging the right lane of Interstate 14.

We marveled
At the way
Robert Frost’s Mending Wall
Rolled across the hills like music—

Followed us to Canada like
A runaway slave

Through Hardwick, Craftsbury, East Craftsbury, Craftsbury Common, Mill Village,
West Glovee

As foliage rattled like pom-poms cheering us on.”

After page 37 there’s unfinished drafts of poems with samples of his hand writing reminding the reader of the intimacy that comes with writing. We’ll never know how he wanted the draft that started with the line “God is my favorite drummer” to end but I’m glad Rootstock Publishing put his drafts in there because those “unpolished” poems deserved to be loved.

[Harrison Wein · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first came to know of Reuben Jackson as the host of the radio jazz program "The Sound of Surprise" on WPFW in Washington, D.C. It was my son who discovered him as a poet at the American Poetry Museum, an outreach museum where Jackson worked on weekends giving advice and mentoring young poets. I met him only a couple of times before he died in February 2024 of a stroke. It was after his death that I learned of his years in Vermont and discovered that one of my writing colleagues knew him from his life there.

My Specific Awe and Wonder: Poems is a collection that Jackson was working on before his death. His publisher says he called it "a love letter to Vermont...with all the potholes visible." It's a consistently excellent collection, opening with a section about Vermont, particularly his experience of being a Black man there. This is followed by a set of witty, incisive persona poems supposedly written by a cranky friend named Kelly Donaldson. Next is a section of travel poems and then copies of handwritten drafts for several more poems paired with typed versions.

The collection holds thoughtful insights into being a Black American, both at home and abroad, but Jackson has too broad a lens to focus on our differences. One poem, "East Barre," begins with the lines:

The salesclerk claimed that the snow fell
with a Vermont accent.

It seems a good characterization of Jackson's approach to this collection.

The fairly small volume also opens with a tribute poem by Rajnii Eddins and ends with a transcription of a voicemail Jackson left his publisher in December 2023 with a wonderful draft poem, "How to Get There, 11th Grade Mix." Jackson's last words on the voicemail are an apt conclusion: "Thanks for listening. Keep on keeping on, okay? These are trying times. Trying AF. Bye-bye."
Jackson’s poetry has been published in many anthologies. This final collection of warm, wide-ranging poems is well worth reading.

[Chanel Hardy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this book in 2024, when Rootstock reached out to share Ruben's poetry on CWW's podcast. Reuben lived a long life full of music and literary accomplishments. How blessed we are to have his work live on forever. ❤️