Reuben Jackson

Read poems by this poet

Reuben Jackson, a poet, jazz scholar, radio DJ, and music critic, was born in Georgia and raised in Washington, D.C. He graduated from Goddard College.

After several years in Washington D.C., Jackson returned to Vermont and worked as an English teacher at Burlington High School. He later hosted Friday Night Jazz on Vermont Public Radio from 2012 to 2018. He also served as the curator of the Smithsonian’s Duke Ellington Collection in Washington, D.C., for more than twenty years. His music reviews have been published in the Washington Post, Washington City Paper, Jazz Times, and featured on All Things Considered. Jackson was also a mentor with The Young Writers Project.

Jackson died in Washington, D.C., on February 16, 2024.