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small lives: poems
Poetry, yes. Superheroes, yes. This is a graphic novel in verse. Gary Jackson's work is inspired by Afro-futurism.
small lives renders a graphic novel in verse form. Jackson creates his own metropolis, featuring original and remixed superheroes who are othered for more than just their skin and are subsequently and simultaneously celebrated, destroyed, and desired, illustrating what it means to reside in a country’s brutal imagination.
small lives renders a graphic novel in verse form. Jackson creates his own metropolis, featuring original and remixed superheroes who are othered for more than just their skin and are subsequently and simultaneously celebrated, destroyed, and desired, illustrating what it means to reside in a country’s brutal imagination.
143 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 2, 2025
1 person is currently reading
12 people want to read
About the author
Gary Jackson
31 books6 followersWINNER OF THE CAVE CANEM POETRY PRIZE, SELECTED BY YUSEF KOMUNYAKAA
GARY JACKSON was born and raised in Topeka, Kansas. He received his MFA from the University of New Mexico and has taught in Albuquerque and in Anyang, South Korea."
GARY JACKSON was born and raised in Topeka, Kansas. He received his MFA from the University of New Mexico and has taught in Albuquerque and in Anyang, South Korea."
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 4, 2025
This caught my eye because it was billed as a "graphic novel in verse form" -- i.e., no pictures, just poetry.
Some thought-provoking concepts, insights, and moments are offered, but since it is poetry they are too often obfuscated or rendered incoherent. Told in verse and poetic vignettes, the dozens of poems and paragraphs connect just enough to outline a sort of story arc with recurring characters. Sometimes I was moved, but many times I was confused as to whose point of view was being offered or what was happening and how did it relate to the rest of the book.
In the end, I have to give it a thumbs down because of its muddled state, but it is certainly worth a look if you are seeking a unique superhero experience.
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the publisher through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program.
Some thought-provoking concepts, insights, and moments are offered, but since it is poetry they are too often obfuscated or rendered incoherent. Told in verse and poetic vignettes, the dozens of poems and paragraphs connect just enough to outline a sort of story arc with recurring characters. Sometimes I was moved, but many times I was confused as to whose point of view was being offered or what was happening and how did it relate to the rest of the book.
In the end, I have to give it a thumbs down because of its muddled state, but it is certainly worth a look if you are seeking a unique superhero experience.
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the publisher through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program.
January 9, 2026
small lives: poems is an ambitious and formally inventive work that blurs the boundaries between poetry, graphic narrative, and speculative imagination. Gary Jackson constructs a fully realized metropolis populated by original and remixed superheroes, using verse to explore what it means to exist inside a nation’s brutal and contradictory imagination. The result is striking, urgent, and intellectually fearless.
Drawing inspiration from Afrofuturism, Jackson interrogates otherness, power, and desire with sharp precision. These characters are celebrated and destroyed, mythologized and erased, often at the same time mirroring the cultural forces that shape real lives beyond the page. The graphic novel in verse form amplifies the book’s impact, making small lives not only a poetic achievement but also a bold cultural statement that lingers long after the final page.
Drawing inspiration from Afrofuturism, Jackson interrogates otherness, power, and desire with sharp precision. These characters are celebrated and destroyed, mythologized and erased, often at the same time mirroring the cultural forces that shape real lives beyond the page. The graphic novel in verse form amplifies the book’s impact, making small lives not only a poetic achievement but also a bold cultural statement that lingers long after the final page.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews