Raych Jackson
Raych Jackson is a writer, educator, and performer whose poems have gained over 2 million views on YouTube. Jackson continues to instruct workshops through the Poetry Foundation, InsideOut Literary Arts, and more. She pushes educators to implement culturally relevant poetry within their curriculum using her five years of experience teaching in Chicago Public Schools. Jackson’s work has been published by many— including Poetry, The Rumpus, The Shallow Ends, and Washington Square Review. Her debut collection Even the Saints Audition won Best New Poetry Collection by a Chicagoan from Chicago Reader in 2019. Jackson currently lives in Chicago.
CPC Readings
Saturday, October 12, 2019
Blue Hour Reading Series
with Berry Grass
The Whistler
Poetry by Raych Jackson
“he forced me awake by snoring after
commendable I was able to fall asleep
this is his bed now he is rooted I am
snapped hanging on to assault charges by
splinters commendable I was able to fall
asleep maybe it was the best defense”
“A black girl is happiest when rooted to the scalp are braids.
She dances with them whipping down her back like corn in winds of harvest.
Braiding forces our reunions to be like the shifts your mothers work, long.
I find that being surrounded by only your own is more useful.
Gives our mixed blood more value.
Solidifies your place with your race, with your sisters.“