Lawrence P. Jackson

Lawrence P. Jackson
Home \| Events \| The Indignant Generation \| Ralph Ellison: Emergence of Genius \| Essays Works in Progress: Chester B. Himes, 1909-1984 \| From the Staunton to the Dan \| If Barack Obama Had Grown Up Black
	Lawrence Jackson is Professor of English & African American Studies at Emory University where he specializes in African American literature and literary history. He is the author of the acclaimed Ralph Ellison: Emergence of Genius, the first biography of Ellison. The New York Times called his biography “rich and meticulous,” and considered the book a literary achievement that “evok[ed] Ellison’s environment brilliantly.” In 2007, New York Review of Books critic Darryl Pinkney hailed the biography as “impressive.”
	Princeton University Press will publish Professor Jackson’s highly anticipated literary history The Indignant Generation: A Narrative History of African American Writers and Critics, 1934-1960. This book has been eight years in the making and portions of it are available in literary journals. The book’s introductory chapter, "Irredeemable Promise: J. Saunders Redding and Negro New Liberalism," was published in American Literary History in 2007. Southern Literature published another portion of the book in fall 2007, “Bucklin Moon and Thomas Sanction: Crusaders for the Liberal Left.”
	Professor Jackson’s literary criticism has also appeared American Literature, African American Review and Massachusetts Review, as well as the Oxford Companion to Ralph Ellison and the Cambridge Companion to Ralph Ellison. Lawrence Jackson has also published portions of his upcoming memoir "Black Like Nobody I Know" in leading literary reviews. Antioch Review published his “The Beginning of Slavery” in spring 2008, and New England Review carried “To Danville” in spring of 2007. Baltimore Review plans to carry “Alley Days of Blackness,” in a future issue of the journal. Jackson’s dense and richly textured memoir captures the point-of-view of the first generation of African Americans to have unfettered access to America after the fall of racial segregation, but during an era known for the general decline of black urban life. His playground is Baltimore City in the 1970s and 1980s, and this important, lyrically abstract work revels in the ironic, bluesy urban humor of black life in the American Rust Belt. His future projects include a full-length biography of the African American writer Chester Himes.
	Lawrence Jackson earned a Ph.D. in English and American literature at Stanford University. In January 2003, Black Issues in Higher Education recognized Jackson as one of the outstanding African American Ph.D.’s of the new millennium. He is a recipient of grants and fellowship awards from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Ford Foundation. He has been a Resident Fellow at Harvard University’s W.E.B. Du Bois Institute and the National Center for the Humanities. For over ten years, Lawrence Jackson has been building a national audience for his work. He is a nationally recognized expert on twentieth century African American writers and, perhaps, most broadly known for his televised appearance in the broadcast of the P.B.S. documentary Ralph Ellison: An American Journey (January 2002). In June of 2008 C-SPAN Book Notes TV carried a panel discussion featuring Professor Jackson at the National Black Writers Conference called "Historical Representations of Resistance and Transformation." Professor Jackson was also a member of the National Book Award non-fiction jury of 2003.
Curriculum Vitae Education Stanford University PhD in English & American Literature, 1997 Employment Emory University Professor English & African American Studies 2010-Present Associate Professor English & African American Studies 2004-2010 Howard University Assistant Professor Department of English 1997-2002 Articles about & Interviews with Lawrence Jackson "The Grooming of a Public Intellectual" Black Issues in Higher Education January 2003
Contact: lpjacks@emory.edu
Home \| Events \| The Indignant Generation \| Ralph Ellison: Emergence of Genius \| Essays Works in Progress: Chester B. Himes, 1909-1984 \| From the Staunton to the Dan \| If Barack Obama Had Grown Up Black

Lawrence Jackson is Professor of English & African American Studies at Emory University where he specializes in African American literature and literary history. He is the author of the acclaimed Ralph Ellison: Emergence of Genius, the first biography of Ellison. The New York Times called his biography “rich and meticulous,” and considered the book a literary achievement that “evok[ed] Ellison’s environment brilliantly.” In 2007, New York Review of Books critic Darryl Pinkney hailed the biography as “impressive.”

Princeton University Press will publish Professor Jackson’s highly anticipated literary history The Indignant Generation: A Narrative History of African American Writers and Critics, 1934-1960. This book has been eight years in the making and portions of it are available in literary journals. The book’s introductory chapter, "Irredeemable Promise: J. Saunders Redding and Negro New Liberalism," was published in American Literary History in 2007. Southern Literature published another portion of the book in fall 2007, “Bucklin Moon and Thomas Sanction: Crusaders for the Liberal Left.”

Professor Jackson’s literary criticism has also appeared American Literature, African American Review and Massachusetts Review, as well as the Oxford Companion to Ralph Ellison and the Cambridge Companion to Ralph Ellison. Lawrence Jackson has also published portions of his upcoming memoir "Black Like Nobody I Know" in leading literary reviews. Antioch Review published his “The Beginning of Slavery” in spring 2008, and New England Review carried “To Danville” in spring of 2007. Baltimore Review plans to carry “Alley Days of Blackness,” in a future issue of the journal. Jackson’s dense and richly textured memoir captures the point-of-view of the first generation of African Americans to have unfettered access to America after the fall of racial segregation, but during an era known for the general decline of black urban life. His playground is Baltimore City in the 1970s and 1980s, and this important, lyrically abstract work revels in the ironic, bluesy urban humor of black life in the American Rust Belt. His future projects include a full-length biography of the African American writer Chester Himes.

Lawrence Jackson earned a Ph.D. in English and American literature at Stanford University. In January 2003, Black Issues in Higher Education recognized Jackson as one of the outstanding African American Ph.D.’s of the new millennium. He is a recipient of grants and fellowship awards from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Ford Foundation. He has been a Resident Fellow at Harvard University’s W.E.B. Du Bois Institute and the National Center for the Humanities. For over ten years, Lawrence Jackson has been building a national audience for his work. He is a nationally recognized expert on twentieth century African American writers and, perhaps, most broadly known for his televised appearance in the broadcast of the P.B.S. documentary Ralph Ellison: An American Journey (January 2002). In June of 2008 C-SPAN Book Notes TV carried a panel discussion featuring Professor Jackson at the National Black Writers Conference called "Historical Representations of Resistance and Transformation." Professor Jackson was also a member of the National Book Award non-fiction jury of 2003.

Curriculum Vitae
Education
Stanford University
PhD in English & American Literature, 1997

Employment
Emory University
Professor English & African American Studies 2010-Present
Associate Professor English & African American Studies 2004-2010

Howard University
Assistant Professor Department of English 1997-2002

Articles about & Interviews with Lawrence Jackson
"The Grooming of a Public Intellectual" Black Issues in Higher Education January 2003

Contact: lpjacks@emory.edu