Scattered Clouds: New & Selected Poems

by Reuben Jackson

Scattered Clouds: New & Selected Poems is a volume of lyrical, emotionally forthright meditations on love, loss, and longing. The poems are often sobering, but they are not, to quote Langston Hughes, "without laughter." Scattered Clouds contains the complete text of the author's award-winning first collection, fingering the keys; his nationally lauded poem, "For Trayvon Martin"; and his wry, unabashedly romantic suite of ruminations on a long-time and deeply missed friend, the late barbershop owner Amir Yasin, and his widow Khadijah Rollins. These poems, exploring Amir's late-life romance with Kadijah, became a national internet sensation. An introduction by poet Abdul Ali (Cave Canem alumni and author of Trouble Sleeping) places Jackson in his rightful context as a Black American poetry elder, who has influenced generations of younger poets with his musical wisdom as well as his poetry.

Genres: Poetry

130 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 2019

Reviews

[Sharon Rainey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had to read it a bit more slowly than I originally anticipated because it was a lot to digest but all in a good way. I love his metaphors and crazy way of mixing up things combining words I would never think to put together. But it works. Brilliantly.

[Kristin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m reading Scattered Clouds, Reuben Jackson’s poetry collection again and trying to think what words to put as I spin from enchantment to wonder to sadness, then find myself laughing out loud. It seems magic how he evokes all of this in so few words. I’ll quote from his poetry to demonstrate what I mean. From “Saturday Night,” “...isn’t it comforting to know / that despite today’s high divorce rates, / ernest and julio gallo / still get along?” From “Variations on a Theme by Danez Smith,” “Sweet, tiresome life. / Don’t snitch on my pillowcase / Crying over ghosts.” Beautiful excerpts, but they don’t do justice to the poems, because Reuben’s poems are so tight that they’re best read whole, every word in interplay with the ones before and after.

Scattered Clouds is full of uplifting imagery, especially in his passionate love poems to music. But it’s also at times devastating, his voice as a black man in America and contemplations of the experience of young black boys in America. In this 78 poem collection there’s so much — stories of a soulful child in a rough neighborhood, the mean but lonely kids, touching portraits of family, the romantic and charming poems of Amir & Khadijah, and if you don’t know them, I highly recommend you buy the book. Scattered Clouds is one I return to again and again, always learn something new.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was looking for a poetry book to read for a challenge and found this on my shelf. Jackson is a poet in the DC area who evokes the aspects of the African American spirit which are hauntingly lyrical and often deliberately unseen by outsiders.

I am doing my psychology internship in a community mental health agency in DC where I am almost the only white face, which is an experience that pushes me to expand my worldview every day. As a result, these poems spoke to me even when their language was foreign and I had to struggle to understand much of it. Even when I felt like I understood, I knew there were layers beyond my comprehension

For instance:

jamal's lamentation

just last friday
shirley
was my wife.

now she's
african-american,

turning her
afrio-centric
nose up
at my spaghetti.

my mother,
whose feet are firmly
planted
in the colored camp,

says that woman's
always been fashion conscious
but little else.

grandmother is
negro,

i'd just gotten comfortable
with blackness

guess i'm in a mixed marriage now.

[MoralPomp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reuben Jackson is a poet who is always clear as day in his meaning and, yet, without needing to lean on the abstruse, creates worlds as rich and clever as any of the professorial types who predate him. He is as economical as a minimalist, as full-bodied as a fine red, as fluid as a composition. Fond of Haiku and other short forms of poesy, Reuben discusses the black experience in Washington, DC, Jazz music, his family (in-depth), and, most remarkably, peoples a town with unforgettable characters. What does that mean? Well, many of his poems are titled as names like "Frank" and "Little Man" and the arc of Scattered Clouds is formed around this cast of reoccurring characters and places, creating an intimate view of small town urban life. And of course there are the Amir and Kadijah poems which involve only the two lovers. Love songs so heartfelt you can feel the tragedy singing from its terminus and smile at it. Wow. Wow. Wow. Thank God for Reuben Jackson.

[Naomi Ayala · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a delight to read this unique - now my favorite - book of poetry of the past year. I love the pacing of the poems and how they are all strung together, making for such a fabulous reading: you flow with the poems as you would with music, one piece begetting the other so effortlessly, so authentically. Especially enjoyed the portrait poems in the book and the "city songs" section. My favorite of all, hands-down, though, was the Amir & Khadijah suite: what a way to extend the power of the written word to embrace others.

[Miriam Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came across Reuben while listening to Robin Dunn Bryant’s podcast Your Life After, and I was blown away by his friendly humor, sharp analysis, and poetic language. A very down-to-earth collection that took my breath away numerous times.

[Samantha Kolber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Smooth as jazz.

[Zachary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poignant poetry with an emphasis on the past and present images and emotions of the District.