A Beat Beyond: The Selected Prose of Major Jackson

Major Jackson's collection of essays, interviews, and notes explores the work of poetry as a source of intellectual pleasure and a means of mediating the inexplicable. It highlights the political controversies and inner conflicts of our age, and praises poetry's ability to amplify these issues. Jackson emphasizes the distinct ability of poetry to mediate the inexplicable through metaphor and expressive language, and praises the poetry of a diverse range of poets for its "hallucinatory speed of thought." The collection passionately surveys the radical shifts of the art and notes poetry's ardor and cultural value as a necessity for a modern sensibility.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 176 pages
Publication date: 02 August 2022
Publisher: The University of Michigan Press

Major Jackson's collection of essays, interviews, and notes delves into the world of poetry, exploring its intellectual breadth and spiritual depth while also addressing contemporary controversies and inner conflicts. Through accessible and critically minded writing, Jackson seeks to provide a multilayered understanding of the poem as a source of linguistic pleasure. In his interviews, he highlights poetry's unique ability to mediate the inexplicable and foreground the possibilities of human song.

The collection spans several decades and includes praise for mythmaking in the works of Frank Bidart and Ais, as well as a reflection on the silence of white-identified poets in the pursuit of social and racial justice. Jackson also uncovers the political implications behind Gwendolyn Brook's Pulitzer Prize and marvels at the "hallucinatory speed of thought" in the poetry of diverse poets such as Mei-Mei Berssenbrugge, Brenda Hillman, Afaa Weaver, Forrest Gander, and Terrance Hayes.

Throughout the collection, Jackson passionately surveys the radical shifts in the art of poetry and emphasizes its ardor and cultural value as a necessity for a modern sensibility. He explores the ways in which poetry can capture the complexities of our times, offering insights and perspectives that challenge and inspire. This collection is a testament to Jackson's deep appreciation for the power of poetry to illuminate the human experience and shape our understanding of the world.

Dimension: 203 x 137 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780472039067