diVERSES reKINDLED: In Conversation With Marcus Jackson

The time between writing the first, bad love poem to publishing an entire collection of love poems was twenty years.

Marcus Jackson, a fellow Cave Canem graduate fellow, was quick to share this during his talk as part of Write Up For 2025.

Marcus is a dad; the day of his talk, he literally had to leave early to attend his son's birthday party.

One of the earliest poetry lessons I had to learn as father was the trade of navigating time. The hours-long sessions of writing I used to enjoy were exchanged for 5 minute sprints throughout the day. Poetry was not unique; a load of laundry took two hours to prepare spread across two-minute increments. Breakfast was finished just in time to cook lunch.

In the midst of upheaval, it is easy to see what is most important to me. I have heard the stories of MFA grads who have not written a word since their degrees. What happens when structure is gone is a testament to what we value.

As Marcus suggests, the even more challenging aspect is the results come long after the devotion. Poetry aside, as the creator of several Youtube channels and podcasts, I'm reminded of this daily.

So the question for poets to address as soon as possible is brutal in the honesty it demands: would you continue with your poetry if you knew that it would fail?

If the answer is yes, you may just have the stubbornness to see your poetry achieve the success you desire for you art.

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Full conversation between poet Marcus Jackson and poet Geoff Anderson: https://youtu.be/HGNvbL1CROs