Roll Deep

by Major Jackson

In his fourth collection, a breakthrough volume, Major Jackson appropriates the vernacular notion of “rolling deep” to capture the spirit of aesthetic travel that defines these forceful new poems and brazenly announces his steady accretion of literary and artistic influences, both formal and experimental—his “crew.” The confident and radiant poems in Roll Deep address a range of topics, most prominently human intimacy and war. And like his best work to date, these poems create new experiences with language owed to Jackson’s willingness to once again seek a rhythmic sound that expresses the unique realities of the twenty-first century with humor and understanding. Whether set in Nairobi, Madrid, or Greece, the poems are sensuously evocative and unapologetically with-it, in their effort to build community across borders of language and style.


From Urban Renewal, “The Dadaab Suite”:


I have come to Dadaab like an actor

on a press release, unprepared for the drained faces

of famine-fleeing refugees, my craft’s glamour

dimmed by hundreds of infant graves, children

whose lolling heads’ final drop landed on their mothers’

backs like soft stones. What beauty can I spell in

this swelter of dust?

Genres: Poetry

96 pages, Hardcover

First published August 3, 2015

About the author

Major Jackson is an American poet and professor. He is the author of four collections of poetry: Roll Deep (2015), Holding Company (2010), Hoops (2006), finalist for an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literature-Poetry, and Leaving Saturn (2002), winner of the 2000 Cave Canem Poetry Prize and finalist for a National Book Critics Award Circle.

His poems have been published in literary journals and magazines including The New Yorker, The American Poetry Review, Callaloo, Poetry, and Tin House. His poetry has received critical attention in The Boston Globe, Christian Science Monitor, Parnassus, Philadelphia Inquirer, and on National Public Radio's All Things Considered. His work has been included in anthologies such as The Best American Poetry 2004, The Pushcart Prize XXIX: Best of the Small Presses, Schwerkraft, From the Fishouse, and The Word Exchange: Anglo-Saxon Poems in Translation. In 2013 he edited Countee Cullen: Collected Poems. [wikipedia]

Reviews

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the poem 'Why I Write Poetry', Jackson writes "Because someone says it's late and begins to rise from a chair." Jackson has a
lot of these amazing moments throughout this collection, but I never felt one poem ever felt amazing as a whole.

[Chris]

I wanted to enjoy this book, and did, parts of it.
Poetry is fickle. Or rather, readers are fickle with poetry.
I didn't feel strongly about some of Jackson's themes, particularly travel and his focus on exotic locations. The question, of course, is why did I have that reaction to his topics.
I'll say that in even the most obscure poem, I would read one or two lines that sparked lyrically, intelligently. Jackson is a writer whose work I will continue to follow.

[Erika Dreifus]

Check out this Q&A with Major Jackson about this book: http://www.erikadreifus.com/resources...

My thanks to the publisher for the complimentary advance copy.

[Jonathan Tennis · Rating 4 out of 5]

First collection I’ve read by this poet. Started off slow with the poems about travel though I enjoyed Child Soldier & Of. The other sections of the collection were great with On Disappearing, Mighty Pawns, Stand Your Ground, On Cocoa Beach, & Why I Write Poetry. Highly recommend this collection and I plan on reading his other works based on my reading of this one.

“It’s too bad war makes people / disappear like chess pieces, and that prisons / turn prisoners into movie endings” (p. 47-48)

“Because the proper weight of beauty was her eyes / last night beneath my eyes … Because I write with a pen whose supply of ink / comes from the sea … Because punctuation is my jury and the moon is my judge … Because I have been on a steady diet of words / since the age of three” (Why I Write Poetry, p. 89-90)

[Elizabeth Powell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Modern day poetic voyage into the realm of love, desire, culture, daily life, familial connections. This book's heart is so big it will love you even from the North Pole. The style, form, imagery, mastery...highest caliber. This is my favorite book of his, or maybe tied with HOOPS. I love this book sooooo much. Bravo, Brother Jackson!

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Meh. It was ok. I liked it better when he was reading it.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Major Jackson rolls deep and smooth. I like that he wrestles with the conflict between his origins, some deep in the history of other places, and where he is in present time. The Part 2 Urban Renewal poems are a compressed and penetrating look at other places on the globe; notably poignant are"Córdoba, Mezquita" in Spain and "Child Soldier" in Kenya. But Jackson has the enviable capacity to bring in humor, too. "OK Cupid" is a masterpiece of one association sliding into another that is a delicious commentary on the absurdities of our times. In "On Cocoa Beach," we learn he takes joy in giving himself "to the great battles of clouds and surfs."

[Nathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pleased as punch to say
that a poet whose ivy-laden
geography and credentials made me,
let's say, a little nervous at the outset? ...

pulled me in and surprised at so many turns.

Now, it didn't hurt that I recently broke beer mug
with Major Jackson at The Frosted Mug in Oklahoma City,
late on a cold November night after picking him up at the airport.

But, I genuinely, and soberly, mean it when I say that this book
matters to the American conversation. It brings race, and
many other pulsing issues of our time, into the realm
of the eternal Odyssean myth that should never
leave our sides... our culture... or canon.

[Greg Bem · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection was my first exposure to Major Jackson--what a great introduction! Jackson's poetry lacks pretension and is filled with jaw-dropping imagery. While some of the form-based poetry feels forced, the majority of this book combined solid enough motifs that keep the momentum going from start to finish. I was actually reminded of an older style of book-writing (for poetry), connected to authors like Wallace Stevens, where the nuances of culture across individual poems becomes the highlight and enrapturing center.

[Courtney LeBlanc · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of poems about identity, travel, intimacy, and desire.

from Reverse Voyage: "I come / back to unlit alleys, avenues in sheaths of grit / and utility wires like veins stitched to power supplies / buzzing above a different kind of hum."

from On Disappearing: "I have not disappeared. / The boulevard is full of my steps. The sky is / full of my thinking."

from Stand Your Ground (a double golden shovel): "America, how often I have applauded your flagpoles. We, / as citizens, struggle to find common ground, yet do / much to damage the planks of your Ark."

[Bill O'driscoll · Rating 4 out of 5]

Terrific collection, dominated by a suite of poems inspired by Jackon's travels in Greece, Kenya, Brazil, Spain and Italy. Images seen with sun-lit acuity. Jackson ranges into experimental territory but is generally very accessible, even or perhaps especially when performing that poet's sleight-of-hand of making the everyday seem bizarre. And, of course, language as sensual pleasure. Very, very good.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

An impressive and interesting collection of poems that find the poet traveling the world as well as his interior landscape. There is a wonderful playfulness in these poems, sometimes at the cost of true feeling, but there are especially strong moments.

[Curtis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am not a big fan of poetry, and read very little to use as a comparison, but I was so impressed with Major Jackson's prose and blend of metaphor and reality. The stories were very personal and sometimes visceral.

[Benjamin Niespodziany · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Moonwords for posterity."

My first reading of Jackson and I adored the geographic whirlwind, the tornado of travel. It all felt so calm.

"...the long coast of my dreams is filled / with saxophones and poems."

[John Adams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Strong poems in several different forms from an African-American perspective.

[Chelsea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ugh, so good. There were so many lines I loved. Would recommend to anyone wanting a thoughtful, quick read while in the sun, preferably among the flowers.

[E]

https://www.poetryoutloud.org/poem/mi...

[Gary Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful language throughout, and the guy can certainly write, but overall it was a bit too stodgy for my tastes.

[Elizabeth Wenger]

Overall didn't quite come together like I'd hoped. I've heard good things about the poet tho so I might give another collection of his a try

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poetry

[Karlan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fine volume of poetry takes the reader to Greece,Nairobi, and other places in a rhythmic manner. The cover is beautiful with a young man amid flowers, but the poems are for mature readers.

[World Literature Today]

This book was featured in the Nota Benes section of the May 2017 issue of World Literature Today Magazine.

https://www.worldliteraturetoday.org/...