Poetry

Whether Major Jackson is teaching, writing or critiquing, at the center of his work is a voracious hunger for artful language—underpinned by a commitment to painting the quotidian in new and unexpected ways. Read More

Printer’s Fist, by Melissa Range, has been selected as the 2025 winner of the Vanderbilt University Literary Prize. The prize competition received more than 250 submissions. Printer’s Fist is scheduled for publication in March 2026 from Vanderbilt Univ... Read More

Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Professor of English Major Jackson sees poetry as an art best appreciated in communion with others and approached through the senses as much as the intellect. He believes deeply in the power of poetry to break down barriers ... Read More

The image of a writer often conjures up visions of an author sequestered away crafting the perfect poem or buried under stacks of paper finishing their next novel. However, award-winning poet and Gertrude Conaway Professor of English Major Jackson believes it is a deeply collaborative process that… Read More

A panel of jurists selected Niu’s I Would Define the Sun, a collection of poems about resisting scarcity through language. The inaugural prize drew more than 300 submissions and honors Vanderbilt University’s strong connection to the arts. Read More

“Sometimes our motivations aren’t what we asked for—they are given to us.” That is the experience of Visiting Assistant Professor of English Didi Jackson, who joined Vanderbilt’s College of Arts and Science in Spring 2021. A true lover of the humanities, Jackson brings to A&S a deep passion for telling… Read More