Writer & Editor
Aaron Brendan Jackson is an author, editor and performer. In the council chambers of city hall, he was named the Poet Laureate of Jersey City, NJ, in June of 2004. He is also a two-time recipient of grants from the Puffin Foundation. Jackson has seen his poetry published in numerous periodicals and on a variety of websites. As a performer, Jackson has read his work throughout the country including The Nuyorican Poets Café, Da Poets Lounge, Bar 13 and The Waterbug Hotel. Jackson has made a number of appearances on television, most notably writing and performing in his own national anti-smoking advertisement sponsored by the Partnership for a Drug Free America.
Jackson has worked as an editor for a number of publications, most recently as editor in chief of Shouted Whisper. As a part of his program Middlepoetry in the schools, Aaron has visited a number of rural and inner-city schools to promote self-expression through poetry to children and teens.
Born in New York City as the first child of a bi-racial couple, Jackson grew up amidst the green mountains of Vermont where he attended the University of Vermont to study English. After finishing up school in New Jersey, Jackson lived in the New York City area immersed in the local poetry scene. Currently Jackson lives in Los Angeles with his girlfriend and their two dogs, where he is working on a collection of his poetry.