Angela Jackson facts for kids

Angela Jackson, born on July 25, 1951, is a talented American writer. She is a poet, a writer of plays (a playwright), and a novelist (a writer of novels). Angela Jackson lives in Chicago, Illinois.

Since 1970, she has been part of the Organization of Black American Culture (OBAC). This group helps Black artists and writers grow their skills. Angela Jackson has also taught at several colleges, like Kennedy-King College and Howard University. She has won many awards, including the American Book Award. In 2020, she became the fifth Illinois Poet Laureate, which is a special honor for a poet in Illinois.

About Angela Jackson's Life

Growing Up in Chicago

Angela Jackson was born in Greenville, Mississippi. She was the fifth of nine children. Her parents, George Jackson Sr. and Angeline Robinson Jackson, moved to Chicago during the Great Migration. This was a time when many African Americans moved from the Southern U.S. to the North.

Angela grew up in the Englewood neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago. She loved reading books from the local library. Angela says she wanted to be a poet even before she was ten years old.

Angela's Education Journey

Angela Jackson went to St. Anne's School, a Catholic elementary school. She was a very bright student and skipped both fourth and fifth grade. In 1968, she graduated from Loretto Academy high school, ranking third in her class.

She received a scholarship to attend Northwestern University. At first, she planned to study medicine.

Joining Black Student Groups

At Northwestern, Angela joined a Black student group called For Members Only (FMO). This group introduced her to different types of art by Black students and professionals. Because of FMO, she joined the Organization of Black American Culture (OBAC) in 1970. She joined with other young Black writers like Haki Madhubuti and Carolyn Rodgers.

The OBAC group started in 1967. It helps Black artists develop their skills and promotes pride in Black heritage. Angela worked as an editor for Nommo, which was OBAC's journal. It was during her time at Northwestern that Angela decided to become a writer instead of a doctor.

In 1974, while still a student, Angela published her first book of poems, Voodoo Love Magic. She also won an Academy of American Poets Award from Northwestern that same year.

Angela earned her Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree in English and American Literature from Northwestern in 1977. Later, in 1995, she earned her Master of Arts (M.A.) degree from the University of Chicago. Her master's degree focused on Latin American and Caribbean studies.

Angela Jackson's Career

After graduating from Northwestern, Angela continued to be an active member of the OBAC. She even served as the group's coordinator from 1976 to 1990.

Angela uses her poetry to speak out against unfairness in society. She writes about how important it is for everyone to be treated equally. Her writing also covers other important topics like homelessness and language. Angela believes that poetry can inspire people to make positive changes for a fairer world.

While Angela Jackson is most famous for her poetry, she also wrote other types of works. In the 1970s and 1980s, she wrote short stories and plays.

Besides her writing, Angela has taught at several colleges. She taught at Kennedy-King College in Illinois, Columbia College Chicago, Framingham State University in Massachusetts, and Howard University in Washington D.C.. She helped guide many young writers.

Who Inspired Angela Jackson?

Many people have influenced Angela Jackson's writing. When she was an undergraduate student, the poet Mari Evans was her mentor. Other members of the OBAC group also helped her writing. Hoyt W. Fuller, who was the OBAC coordinator before Angela, was especially important to her. Angela even dedicated her first book of poetry, Voodoo Love Magic, to him, along with other OBAC members and her family.

Awards and Honors

Angela Jackson has received many awards for her amazing writing.

• 1973: Conrad Kent Rivers Memorial Award
• 1974: Academy of American Poets Award from Northwestern University
• 1985: American Book Award
• 1984: Pushcart Prize for Poetry
• 2002: Shelley Memorial Award from the Poetry Society of America
• 2008: American Book Award
• 2020: Illinois Poet Laureate
• 2022: Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize winner

She has also won other honors, including:

• The Carl Sandburg Award
• Chicago Literary Hall of Fame Fuller Award
• Six Illinois Arts Council Literary Awards
• Literary Hall of Fame for Writers of African Descent from Chicago State University

Angela Jackson's Works

Angela Jackson is best known for her poetry, but she has also published plays, novels, and a memoir.

Poetry Books

• Voodoo Love Magic, 1974
• The Greenville Club, 1977
• Solo in the Boxcar Third Floor, 1985
• The Man with the White Liver, 1987
• Dark Legs and Silk Kisses: The Beatitudes of the Spinners, 1993
• And All These Roads Be Luminous: Poems New and Selected, 1997
• It Seems Like a Mighty Long Time, 2015
• More Than Meat and Raiment, 2022

Plays She Wrote

• Witness!, 1970
• Shango Diaspora: An African American Myth of Womanhood and Love, 1980
• Comfort Stew, 1984 (Also known as When the Wind Blows)

Novels She Wrote

• Treemont Stone, 1984
• Where I Must Go, 2009
• Roads, Where There Are No Roads, 2017

Her Memoir

• Apprenticeship in the House of Cowrie Shells